OXFORD, England--BG Group PLC (BG.LN) Chairman Andrew Gould refused to be drawn Thursday on reports the U.K. energy giant is close to agreeing a deal with Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. for BG's 65% stake in Gujarat Gas Co. Ltd.
"We have an ongoing divestment program and continue to look at all the different parts of our portfolio," said Mr. Gould, declining to confirm or deny a report by India's Economic Times newspaper Tuesday that BG Group would soon make a final decision on whether to accept an offer of $450 million from a consortium headed by the state-owned company.
According to an unnamed Indian government official cited by the Economic Times, GSPC, along with partners ONGC and BPCL, are the only formal bidders left in a sales process that began last year.
However, the price cited by the Economic Times is substantially lower than the $700 million that analysts say is the market value for the stake.
While the formal bidding process ended in March, BG Group has yet to conclude a deal for the stake. Initial offers for the stake, which BG believes is worth closer to $900 million, have so far underwhelmed the U.K company, according to a person familiar with the matter.
- Write to Alexis Flynn at alexis.flynn@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 12, 2012 11:10 ET (15:10 GMT)
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