Shell offers £992 mln for E.Africa

Royal Dutch Shell said it had offered to buy Cove Energy, a London-listed company with key operations in East Africa, for £922.4 million (1.1 billion euros, $1.46 billion). The cash offer worth 195 per Cove share is set to become formal and accepted by the Cove board once energy giant Shell receives necessary approval from authorities in Mozambique, according to a statement, released on Wednesday. "Shell's decision to announce this proposed offer for Cove fits with Shell's strategic aim to drive forward with its investment programme, to deliver sustainable growth and to provide competitive returns to shareholders," the Anglo-Dutch group said in the statement. "East Africa is a major prospective hydrocarbon province, which has seen a significant increase in exploration activity in recent years. Shell already has interests in Tanzania, and the acquisition of Cove would mark Shell's entry into exciting new hydrocarbon provinces in Kenya and Mozambique."