Pharos Energy (LSE:PHAR) has secured an improved takeover offer from Ratio Petroleum Energy LP worth 32.8183p per share, topping a rival bid from Serica Energy that emerged last month.
The Egypt and Vietnam-focused oil and gas producer's board unanimously recommends the increased Ratio offer and has withdrawn its earlier recommendation of the Serica proposal.
Under the new terms, Pharos shareholders would receive 28.8183p in cash plus a 4.0p special dividend, together with the previously announced FY25 final dividend, taking total value to 33.75p per share.
That values Pharos' entire issued share capital at approximately £146.4 million, a 29.2% premium to the 25.4p closing price before the original deal was announced in June, and edges out Serica's equivalent 32.6683p offer by 0.5%.
Ratio said its extensive experience securing regulatory clearances across seven jurisdictions, combined with irrevocable undertakings already in hand, gives shareholders greater deal certainty than the Serica alternative. It has irrevocable undertakings covering roughly 41.76% of Pharos shares, including board holdings.
Pharos intends to adjourn its scheduled 17 August shareholder meetings to give investors more time to consider the revised terms, with a new timetable to follow.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Ratio Petroleum has raised its cash offer for Pharos Energy to 32.8183p per share—a 0.5% premium to Serica Energy's competing bid—and secured the Pharos board's unanimous recommendation. The improved offer, worth £146.4m total and representing a 29.2% premium to the pre-announcement price, is now backed by irrevocable undertakings covering 41.76% of shares, with additional tranches locked in unless a rival bids at least 15% higher by mid-August. This materially increases deal certainty for shareholders by narrowing the window for competing bids and anchoring majority support.
- Serica Energy's rival bid is now effectively displaced unless it raises its offer by at least 15% within the specified window, a threshold that would value Pharos at roughly 37.6p per share.
For Pharos shareholders, the revised Ratio offer closes the gap with Serica and locks in board backing plus majority shareholder support, reducing execution risk. The deal does not change Pharos's underlying asset base or 2026 operational trajectory—it simply crystallizes value at a 29% premium to the pre-bid price, ending the period of strategic uncertainty that began in June.
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