Chinese Company Offers $18.5B for Unocal

State-owned CNOOC Ltd., China’s third-biggest oil producer, made a $18.5 billion bid Thursday for U.S. oil company Unocal Corp., setting up a possible contest with rival bidder Chevron Corp.

The CNOOC bid was the biggest yet in a multibillion-dollar wave of foreign takeover attempts by Chinese companies trying to secure a place in the top ranks of global competitors.

Unocal already had agreed to be acquired by Chevron for a lower price of $16.6 billion, but said it would evaluate the CNOOC offer. Unocal said its board’s earlier recommendation to shareholders to accept the Chevron offer remained in place.
Forbes