US regulators approve the $15.1 billion takeover of Canadian company as the deal passes its last hurdle.
The $15.1 billion deal to buy Calagry, Alberta-based Nexen Inc received approval from Europe and Canada at the end of last year and now a green light from US authorities means the acquisition should go ahead as planned.
As Nexen has American interests, China’s state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd (CNOOC) needed approval from the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States.
Nexen said it expects the deal, in which CNOOC will purchase shares in the company for $27.50, to be completed by late February. News of the announcement sent Nexen share prices up by 2% to $27.43, just below the purchasing price.
The approval is the second positive verdict in as many months by the CFIUS. In January, the committee cleared a bid from China’s Wanxiang Group to buy bankrupt battery maker A123 systems.