Financial Post: Repsol abandons Talisman takeover plan, weighs buying shale assets instead: sources

Repsol SA has dropped a plan to buy all of Talisman Energy Inc., and is instead weighing the purchase of some of the Canadian company’s shale assets, people with knowledge of the matter said.

After conducting due diligence on Talisman the Spanish company abandoned its original plan for a full takeover, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Repsol failed to find buyers for assets it wasn’t interested in owning after a takeover, including Talisman’s North Sea and Southeast Asia assets, the people said.

Talks between Calgary-based Talisman and Repsol over assets in Texas’s Eagle Ford and Alberta’s Duvernay regions are moving slowly and it’s uncertain that any deal will be reached, the people said. The Madrid-based oil company is assessing the value of several assets that could help meet its goal of growing in more stable economies than it has operated in previously, the people said.
MORE