LONDON (AFP) — British oil and gas explorer Imperial Energy said Tuesday that Indian energy giant ONGC was in talks to buy the group for 1.4 billion pounds.

“Imperial Energy confirms that it is in the course of finalizing the terms of a possible recommended pre-conditional cash offer with ONGC of 1,250 pence per Imperial share,” Imperial said in a brief statement.
The offer “would value its entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital at approximately 1.4 billion pounds.”
It added, “A further announcement is expected later on Tuesday.”
The London-listed group, which hunts for oil and gas in Russia and in Kazakhstan, has proven reserves of 864 million barrels of oil and 56 million barrels of gas.
Indian media reported last week that the country’s government had approved the bid from Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which is India’s largest state-run oil producer.
Imperial had already revealed in July that it had received a takeover approach that was pitched at 1,290 pence per share. The offer was widely reported to have come from ONGC.
Recent press reports have also claimed that Chinese energy giant Sinopec could launch a rival takeover offer.
In early morning trade, Imperial Energy shares fell 1.89 percent to 1,216.60 pence on the FTSE 250 index, which registered a drop of 1.64 percent to stand at 9,031.70 points.