Shares of Inter Pipeline Ltd rose for a second day in a row on Friday on a newspaper report that the Canadian oil pipeline and storage company had received a takeover bid.
The company declined to comment.
Inter Pipeline’s shares jumped nearly 9% on Thursday after Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper reported that it had received a takeover offer from an unnamed suitor that could be worth C$12.4 billion ($9.37 billion). The Globe reported that Inter Pipeline’s board turned down the cash offer worth C$30 per share.
The stock gained another 2.5% on Friday, hitting a nearly one-year high of C$24.54 in Toronto.
“As a matter of policy we do not comment on market rumors or speculation, so we will have nothing further to say on this matter today,” Chief Financial Officer Brent Heagy said on a quarterly conference call.
In response to an analyst’s question about whether Inter Pipeline is legally obligated to disclose any offer, Chief Executive Christian Bayle said that hypothetically the company would consult legal advisers.
“The board would carefully consider any credible offer,” Bayle said.
The Calgary, Alberta-based company owns pipelines in Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as oil storage tanks in Canada and Europe.
Congested export pipelines forced the Alberta government this year to order curtailments of oil production in the province to drain a glut of crude in storage and support prices. Long delays in approvals to expand export pipelines owned by Enbridge Inc and TC Energy have weighed down the entire Canadian oil sector, and shaken investor confidence.
Inter Pipeline announced plans in late 2017 to build the C$3.5 billion Heartland petrochemical plant near Edmonton, Alberta, partly with provincial government subsidies. Funding for the project has hung over the stock, RBC analyst Robert Kwan said in a note.
Inter Pipeline also said on Thursday it was exploring a sale of its European bulk liquid storage business, which includes 23 terminals, and would use potential proceeds to reduce debt and fund Heartland.