Northern Oil and Gas took the unusual step prior to Christmas Day of denying it was attempting to acquire Dallas-based Granite Ridge Resources.
The denial was of a report by Reuters that NOG had submitted an offer approximately 20% more than Granite Ridge’s share price. But NOG denied it and explained it had a policy of “not responding to acquisition rumors, however the company believes that today’s article—requires a response.”
“The Company is not currently engaged in formal negotiations to acquire Granite Ridge,” stated NOG in its response. It further explained as the largest publicly traded dedicated non-operator, the company has a large pipeline of acquisition opportunities and frequently sends expressions of interest to acquire assets or businesses in order to evaluate and conduct due diligence on potential opportunities. Many of the requests to conduct due diligence, declared NOG in its statement, are rejected.
In its report, Reuters claim that Granite Ridge management had turned down the NOG offer “so far” but “sources suggest the company remains interested and may raise its offer next year.”