06-22-2013, 05:08 AM
As stated, I love the idea of a takeover bid from TOT/OSH or anyone else. What concerns me about such an event actually occurring is that it seems that Exxon will pay top dollar for all of IOC, if necessary, as they have the best economics. I believe all other parties realize this. Therefore to launch an IOC takeover bid you either have to be ready to pay top dollar (probably not in the initial bid), or realize you will lose to Exxon, but you will force them to expend a lot of capital. Are either of these two outcomes, paying a lot for IOC (no discount even if you've been suppressing the pps) or forcing Exxon to pay a high price, really worth the effort? Am I seeing this wrong? I welcome other, hopefully more optimistic, opinions.