Some interesting background on the Chinese investors in Santos:
Chinese billionaire the kingmaker inside Santos tent
By Simon Evans AFR 17 November 2017 Chinese billionaire Wang Yusuo's ENN Group and Hony Capital are free to make a counter bid for Santos under a complex agreement signed in June that gave the duo a seat on the board.
Chinese gas distributor ENN and private equity firm Hony hold a combined 15.1 per cent stake in Santos and loom as the kingmaker in any future change of ownership at Santos, whose shares made a 1.2 per cent gain on Friday to $5.01, following a 13 per cent spike on Thursday. The share spike came after an approach from private equity-backed Harbour Energy became public as Santos confirmed a report in The Australian Financial Review about a potential buyout by the United States group.
ENN declined to comment on Friday on whether there had been any separate talks with Harbour Energy, which on August 14 made an indicative buyout proposal of $4.55 per share for Santos, at a time when Santos shares were trading at $3.35.
A spokeswoman for ENN's legal advisers said on Friday the firm was "not in any position to comment".
Citigroup analyst Dale Koenders said Hony and ENN "are an important piece of the puzzle" when it comes to the eventual outcome for Santos, because they "can counter offer if they choose" under the complicated strategic relationship agreement signed with Santos in June.
Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager Matt Haupt said on Friday it appeared likely Santos would eventually fall to a predator, but it would come down to price.
"It definitely looks like it's in play," he said. "You can see the attractiveness".
Mr Haupt said Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher had done a good job in resurrecting a company in the past 18 months "which had been on its knees" after being shackled with too much debt as oil prices plunged from late 2014.
Citigroup's Mr Koenders estimated the average entry price of Hony and ENN in Santos had been $4.57 per share as they built their stakes from late 2015. One of the stipulations of the agreement in June with Santos was the Chinese duo follow the board's recommendation on any takeover offer, provided that offer price was above the Chinese firms' average entry price. But they also had the option to make their own offer.
ENN and Hony themselves have had a fractious relationship with Santos, with Mr Wang furious with Santos late last year over the destruction of shareholder value at the company, as he pushed for a board seat for ENN.
But that changed in June, 2017 when the Santos board agreed to appoint ENN representative Eugene Shi to its board. That came as a formal "strategic relationship" between Santos and ENN and Hony Capital was cemented. Just a month earlier, Hony had applied extra pressure on the Santos board with a "mini-raid" on the sharemarket to snare more Santos shares just prior to the Santos annual general meeting as it stepped up its push for one of its own to be appointed a Santos director.
ENN's Mr Shi has been operating as a full member of the Santos board since June and there are no restrictions being placed on him in boardroom discussions and access.
Santos director Hock Goh, who joined the Santos board in October, 2012 is also a director of Harbour Energy, which is backed by powerful investors and led by a former executive director of Royal Dutch Shell, Linda Cook. Mr Goh has now been temporarily barred from the Santos boardroom after Harbour's approach became public and had taken "a leave of absence from the Santos board until Harbour Energy's position is definitely established". Santos said Mr Goh hadn't participated in any discussions about the Harbour confidential approach in mid-August.
ENN's Mr Wang is listed as No.57 on China's Rich List by Forbes magazine at $US4.2 billion, after building ENN into a vertically integrated gas company.
STO Price at posting:
$5.01 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)