Genel jumps 13% after rejecting £202m cash approach from DNO - UPDATE
Last updated: 04:30 07 Aug 2026 EDT, First published: 02:14 07 Aug 2026 EDT
Genel Energy PLC (LSE:GENL, FRA:4VL, OTC:GEGYY) shares jumped 13% to 56.6p after it rejected a £202 million cash approach from DNO, its Norwegian rival in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
DNO has taken the proposal public after being rebuffed, a move that raises pressure on the Genel board to open talks.
The Norwegian producer offered 69p in cash for each Genel share.
That represents a 38% premium to Genel's closing price on 6 August and a 30% premium to the three-month average.
Genel's board rejected the approach on 4 August, although DNO said it remained willing to engage.
DNO has also put forward a cash-and-shares alternative of equivalent value.
That would be funded from existing share authorities, meaning DNO would not require approval from its own shareholders.
Share authorities allow a company to issue new shares up to a limit already approved by its investors.
A combination would create a group of significant scale in a region that has produced up to 285,000 barrels of oil a day.
DNO argued its offer delivers a substantial premium and certainty of value regardless of the outcome of Genel's own bid for Capricorn Energy.
Genel launched that approach in early July, in a move towards diversification.
DNO noted that several other parties have signalled possible offers for Capricorn.
Should Genel's pursuit fail, the company would be left without that diversification and carrying overheads out of proportion to its size, DNO said.
The Norwegian group also pointed to the liquidity its cash offer would give Genel investors, given thin trading in the shares.
It highlighted the benefits of greater scale in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where security and commercial risks persist.
Any formal offer would fall under the UK takeover code, which sets deadlines for bidders to clarify their intentions.
DNO has left open the possibility of a further approach.
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