Elf Will Only Talk Merger If Totalfina Agrees To Spin Off Chemical Division
Elf Aquitaine Chairman Philippe Jaffre said he will only enter merger talks with TotalFina if TotalFina agreed to spin off the merged group's chemicals activities into a separate company. Jaffre told France's LC1 television it would be left to Elf and TotalFina shareholders to decide in two months' time between TotalFina's hostile bid for Elf and Elf's counter-bid if the two companies failed to agree on a friendly deal. He said he was "very confident" shareholders would opt for Elf's proposal. TotalFina launched a hostile bid for Elf on July 5 to create the world's fourth largest oil company. Elf responded two weeks later with a counter-bid and said it would spin off the new group's petrochemicals and chemicals businesses into a separately quoted company.
TotalFina, Elf Seeking 'Friendly End' To Takeover Battle
TotalFina Chairman Thierry Desmarest said that relations with rival Elf Aquitaine had entered a more relaxed phase and said he would seek a friendly end to their takeover fight in the coming weeks. "The atmosphere has become more relaxed over the past week," Desmarest said. Desmarest confirmed he was ready to raise his offer if a friendly deal could be reached. "In order to secure a deal, if we want to move more quickly, we need to accept that there is room for discussion," he said. TotalFina launched a 42 billion euro hostile bid for Elf on July 5 and Elf responded with a 50 billion counter-bid two weeks later. Desmarest said that negotiations between the two oil giants had not yet begun.
