The board of InterOil has accepted that the ExxonMobil bid is ‘superior’ to the bid by Oil Search. But the deal will not be completely finalised until a proposed shareholders’ meeting in September. And there are some legal obstacles that have to be dealt with.

InterOil operations

InterOil has scheduled a Special Meeting, to be held on September 21, 2016 for holders of common shares, options and restricted share units to consider the ExxonMobil transaction.

It is proposed that InterOil shareholders will receive a payment of US$45.00 per share of InterOil, paid in ExxonMobil shares. The calculation of the number of ExxonMobil shares would be based on a weighted average price of ExxonMobil shares over a period of ten days.

A company statement notes that the shareholders’ meeting is ‘subject to receipt of an interim order of the Supreme Court of Yukon.’

There will also be an additional cash payment (Contingent Resource Payment) based on certification of the size of the resource at the Elk-Antelope field. This would be paid on the completion of the interim certification process. It would not be transferrable and would not be listed on any stock exchange.

Yukon

A company statement notes that the shareholders’ meeting is ‘subject to receipt of an interim order of the Supreme Court of Yukon.’ InterOil is incorporated in Canada and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Mulacek issued a statement saying that InterOil shareholders will forego ‘billions of dollars of value.’

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It was reported that in June, the Supreme Court of Yukon agreed to hear argument on whether to postpone the annual and special meeting of InterOil shareholders. This was in relation to the initial unsuccessful bid by Oil Search.

InterOil founder Phil Mulacek. Source: Business Advantage International

The ABC reports that InterOil Shareholders are ‘being urged to vote down ExxonMobil’s takeover bid’ by Phil Mulacek, the founder of InterOil and former Managing Director. Mulacek holds more than five per cent of InterOil shares.

‘He says shareholders in PNG and elsewhere could be left billions of dollars out of pocket and he’s ready for a fight,’ reports the ABC.

Mulacek issued a statement saying that InterOil shareholders will forego ‘billions of dollars of value, including the five cash payments TOTAL, S.A. has already agreed to make under its existing 2014 agreement with InterOil, unless the current proposal from Exxon is modified.’ He called for Exxon to ‘improve the fairness of the CRP for InterOil shareholders.’