FT Alphaville " The consummation of the Shell♥Cove romance? From this morning's RNS (with our emphasis): Further to the announcement of a possible offer by Shell Bidco for Cove on 22 February 2012, the boards of directors of Cove and Shell Bidco are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer to be made by Shell Bidco for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Cove. Shell Bidco is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell incorporated in the Netherlands. Cove Shareholders who accept the Offer will be entitled to receive 220 pence in cash for each Cove Share. The Offer values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Cove at approximately £1,120 million and represents a premium of: 134 per cent. to the Closing Price of 94 pence per Cove Share as of 12 December 2011, the last Business Day prior to the date of the announcement by Cove of its proposed sale of the Rovuma Area 1 Interest; 95.6 per cent. to the Closing Price of 112.5 pence per Cove Share as of 4 January 2012, the last Business Day prior to start of the Offer Period; and 42.4 per cent. to the Closing Price of 154.5 pence per Cove Share as of 21 February 2012, the last Business Day prior to the date of the Possible Offer Announcement.... Commenting on the Offer, Michael Blaha, Executive Chairman of Cove, said: The Board believes that the recommended cash offer from Shell Bidco provides very significant value to Cove Shareholders. The proposed transaction is in line with the company's long term strategy, as set out in May 2009, of delivering value to shareholders through exploration and appraisal. So, are Cove and Shell done courting and ready to settle down? Or will PTT reappear on the scene now that it is known what the dowry price will be? Near 13 per cent more than Shell sought to pay in February and exactly the same as PTT's last 220p bid. Cove's share price this morning - up only 3.7 per cent at pixel time - suggests the former. Related link: Cove set to resume its bidding process - FT This entry was posted by David Keohane on Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 at 8:55 and is filed under Capital markets, Commodities. Tagged with Cove Energy, shell.