When is the Unocal shareholders' meeting? Can CNOOC counteroffer? We all know they were licking their chops.
If I recall correctly, the Unocal sharedholders' meeting is on 8/10/05. Both CNOOC and Chevron could raise their bids before this meeting, but I think the uncertainties generated by a lengthy regulatory review of CNOOC's bid are now a bigger issue than money. The regulatory review of CNOOC's bid could drag on into next year and Unocal's shareholders don't want to wait that long to lock in their gains. There's also some chance that a CNOOC bid could be blocked or materially altered by congress or regulators, and Unocal's shareholders don't want to deal with that either. I predict Unocal's shareholders will vote to accept the Chevron offer on August 10. I'm holding my Chevron shares for further gains this year.
Actually I thougth there was some chance that Unocal's board would recommend the CNOOC offer and I'm interested in what the board's reasoning is for rejecting the CNOOC bid.