Emirates National Oil Co (ENOC) , which already owns 54 percent of Dragon Oil, is proposing to buy the shares in the company it does not already own at a price of 735 pence per share.

The proposal values Dragon Oil at about £3.6 billion (€5.03 billion).

ENOC previously made an approach to buy the remainder of Dragon shares on March 15th, set at an undisclosed premium to the company’s closing price of 509.5 pence on March 13th.

ENOC said its latest proposal, was made to the company’s independent committee, set up after ENOC made its first proposal, on May 14th.

It said the offer represented a substantial increase on its opening gambit and it believed it was fit to recommend to shareholders. Dragon Oil said it had received the offer and its committee was still considering it.

"There is great uncertainty in the sector and we believe, as a long term and supportive shareholder, that Dragon Oil has achieved as much as is possible through its existing upstream strategy," ENOC chief e xecutive Saif Al Falasi said in a statement issued shortly before Thursday's London stock market close.

“Moreover, Dragon Oil stands to benefit significantly from being part of the integrated platform that ENOC offers. To that end, we want to ensure that all of Dragon Oil’s shareholders have the opportunity to evaluate the proposal on its merits.”

ENOC said buying Dragon Oil would help it become a fully-integrated global oil and gas company, by adding the target’s upstream operating experience.

The independent committee, which includes four of Dragon's non-executive directors, is being advised by Nomura International and Davy.

Shares in the company closed up 5.4 per cent at 680p on Thursday.

Reuters