India's state-run Oil and amp; Natural Gas Corp. has won approval from Imperial Energy PLC for a 1.4 billion pound ($2.6 billion) takeover of the British company, a deal that will help ONGC meet surging demand from its burgeoning domestic economy for fuel. ONGC and Imperial said in a joint statement on Tuesday that their boards had reached agreement on the terms of a preconditional cash offer, which values Imperial shares at 1,250 pence ($22.95). London-based Imperial, an independent upstream oil and gas exploration company with holdings mainly in western Siberia and Kazakhstan, has not named its other suitor, but media reports have suggested it was state-owned Chinese oil refiner Sinopec Corp. Both China and India have encouraged their state-owned oil and gas giants to diversify and expand their access to scarce energy resources. ONGC is India's largest oil and gas explorer and buys hydrocarbon assets abroad through its overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd., to meet a growing domestic demand for fuel and energy to sustain the country's booming economy. About 70 percent of India's fuel needs are currently imported.
