Dragon Oil pulls Bowleven bid

DRAGON Oil yesterday walked away from a potential £600 million bid for Bowleven, pushing shares in the Edinburgh-based oil explorer down nearly 25 per cent and leaving the door open for a rival bid, possibly from Tullow Oil.

Dragon – controlled by Dubai’s national oil company – said nothing about why it had spurned the potential deal, which was mooted less than a fortnight ago.

Bowleven said: “No detailed discussions were held and no due diligence information was provided.”

The Scottish firm’s stock hit a six-month high in early trading, driven up by investors anticipating a deal, before Dragon said it was not proceeding.

Bowleven closed down 32.25p at 102p.