UPDATE: Centrica Given July 13 Deadline For Venture Bid

The U.K. authority that oversees corporate mergers and acquisitions said Wednesday that utility Centrica PLC (CNA.LN) must decide by 1600 GMT on July 13 whether to mount a full takeover bid for North Sea gas producer Venture Production PLC (VPC.LN).

If Centrica does not make a formal takeover offer before the deadline, it will be unable to do so for six months, the takeover panel said in a statement.

Venture Production welcomed the takeover panel's decision. "By 13 July, Centrica will have had nearly four months to put forward a firm offer and Venture's board believe it is in the interests of the company and its shareholders that this period of protracted uncertainty is brought to an end," said the company in a statement.

Centrica will clarify its position within the set timeframe, said a company spokesman.

Centrica built up a 22% stake in Venture in May and says it is considering a full cash offer for the company. "The chairman and chief executive of Venture met with their respective counterparts at Centrica at which no firm offer was forthcoming," said Venture's statement, and the company maintains that the 725-pence-per-share Centrica paid for its 22% stake is not a good price.

At 1245 GMT, Venture's shares traded down 9 pence, or 1.2%, at 762 pence, giving it a market capitalization of GBP1.14 billion. Centrica's shares traded down 2 pence, or 1%, at 222 pence in a broadly weaker London market.

Centrica is the U.K.'s largest retailer of natural gas, but does not have enough of its own gas fields to supply all of its customers and is vulnerable to price swings on the wholesale market. Acquiring Venture would go some way in addressing this weakness, analysts say.

Centrica is being advised on the acquisition by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS). Venture is being advised by Rothschild, Lambert Energy, UBS AG (UBS) and Oriel Securities.

-By James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317; james.herron@dowjones.com

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