Reuters: CNOOC to buy Nexen for $15.1 billion in China's largest foreign deal

State-controlled CNOOC Ltd launched China's richest foreign takeover bid yet on Monday by agreeing to buy Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc for $15.1 billion, forcing Ottawa to decide whether national security concerns outweigh its desire for foreign investment in its energy resources.

CNOOC, China's third-largest oil company, hopes to sell the deal to shareholders and the government by offering a hefty 61 percent premium to Nexen's Friday stock price, pledging to retain all employees and promising to make Canada home base for its Western Hemisphere operations.  MORE