UK's Centrica: Notified EC Of Proposed Venture Acquisition

U.K. utility Centrica PLC (CNA.LN) said Thursday it had formally notified the European Commission about its proposed GBP1.3 billion acquisition of U.K. independent oil and gas company Venture Production PLC (VPC.LN).

The European Commission is expected to conclude the merger review process by Aug. 26, Centrica said.

Centrica posted its 845-pence-a-share offer to Venture shareholders on July 16. The offer is final and won't be increased, although the U.K utility said it reserved the right to revise the offer if a competitive situation arises.

The offer initially remains open until 1200 GMT Aug. 13, Centrica said.

Last week, two key Venture shareholders who own a combined share of around 12% rejected the offer from Centrica, which holds around 29.9% of Venture Production.

Centrica, with its dwindling natural gas reserve base, wants Venture's gas output to help supply its 15.5 million gas and electricity customers in the U.K.

Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan Cazenove (JPM) and RBS (RBS.LN) are acting for Centrica as financial advisers.

Company website: http://www.centrica.co.uk

-By Selina Williams, Dow Jones Newswires +44 207 842 9262; selina.williams@dowjones.com

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