Capricorn Energy (LSE:CNE), the Scotland-incorporated oil and gas company, confirmed a revised recommended cash offer from Norway's DNO that raises the total value delivered to shareholders - moving to $5.214 per share in cash, from $4.224.
The new price, equivalent to 388p, represents a 46% premium to Capricorn's undisturbed closing price of 266p on 10 March, and a 61% premium to the three-month volume-weighted average price to that date. It also tops the rival cash offer from Genel Bidco announced on 2 July by $0.474 per share, a roughly 10% premium, valuing Capricorn's fully diluted share capital at approximately $396 million, or £294 million.
Under the original offer announced on 1 September, Capricorn shareholders were to receive $4.224 in cash plus a $0.99 special dividend, contingent on the Capricorn board being able to declare and pay that dividend before completion. The revised offer instead delivers the full $5.214 per share in cash directly from DNO's bid vehicle, removing that dependency and giving shareholders certainty of the full value regardless of dividend timing.
Capricorn's board, advised by Canaccord Genuity, called the revised terms "fair and reasonable" and intends to recommend unanimously that shareholders back the scheme.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
DNO has sweetened its bid for Capricorn Energy to $5.214 per share, all cash, by folding in the previously conditional $0.99 special dividend and removing the timing risk that hung over the original offer. The move eliminates a material uncertainty for shareholders—the board's ability to declare and pay the dividend before deal close—while maintaining a 10% premium over Genel Bidco's rival bid and valuing the company at approximately $396 million.
- Genel Bidco's competing offer is now formally inferior by $0.474 per share (~10%), reducing its path to victory unless it raises its bid.
- The removal of dividend conditionality strengthens shareholder certainty and likely improves scheme approval odds, narrowing the window for rival bidders to intervene.
For Capricorn shareholders, the revised terms eliminate execution risk on the special dividend while locking in a 46% premium to the pre-bid undisturbed price. The all-cash structure and higher price do not materially alter the company's standalone investment case—this is a takeout event—but they reduce deal friction and increase the probability of completion by Q1 2027.
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Content is for informational purposes only, not financial advice.
