Canadian Oil Sands Advises Shareholders to Take No Action as Suncor Extends Expiry of Hostile Bid
CALGARY, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian Oil Sands Limited (TSX: COS)(OTCQX: COSWF) ("COS" or "Canadian Oil Sands") advises shareholders to take no action on Suncor Energy Inc.'s ("Suncor") altered hostile bid, which simply extends the expiry from December 4, 2015 to January 8, 2016.
"Extending the expiry of Suncor's bid does not change the fact that it is substantially undervalued and opportunistic," said Donald Lowry, Chairman of Canadian Oil Sands. "Nothing else has changed so, as it stands, there is more value for shareholders in a strong, independent COS than there is in this offer. Our Board will continue to pursue full and fair value for all shareholders now that the decision by the Alberta Securities Commission has leveled the playing field between Suncor and other interested parties."
Shareholders are reminded of the facts about Suncor's undervalued, opportunistic and exploitive bid:
- Timing of the Suncor bid is entirely opportunistic. The bid is intended to take advantage of COS shareholders during unprecedented conditions in the energy industry.
- The bid is less than what Suncor has demonstrated it is willing to pay for inferior assets with less value. The Suncor bid represents less value than the recent increase of its interest in the Fort Hills project at what it called a "discount". Fort Hills is at least two years away from starting operations and has no upgrader. Syncrude is fully operational and has a valuable upgrader. COS shareholders helped pay for the highly profitable Syncrude upgrader and are now being asked to give it away for free.
- The future of Canadian Oil Sands is strong. The bid fails to recognize that COS is strongly positioned to withstand low oil prices and emerge with even greater value when oil prices recover. As recently demonstrated in COS' budget for 2016, Syncrude has entered a new era of lower-cost operations. COS can remain resilient through this period of low oil prices and even a modest improvement in oil prices will generate strong expansion of cash flow. The cash-generating power of Syncrude has been proven in the $7.9 billion, or $17 per share, that COS has paid in dividends since 2001.
- Suncor wants COS because COS is more highly leveraged to oil prices than Suncor. COS has demonstrated a 98% correlation to oil prices and has gained over twice as much as Suncor's on days when energy stocks rise.
To REJECT the Suncor bid, simply TAKE NO ACTION.
DO NOT tender your shares of Canadian Oil Sands Limited.
For further information, please visit our website at www.rejectsuncor.ca or contact our information agent, Kingsdale Shareholder Services at 1-866-851-3215 or [email protected]
How to Withdraw Tendered Shares:
Shareholders with questions about the offer or who have tendered their COS shares to the Suncor offer and wish to withdraw them can do so by contacting their broker or COS' information agent and advisor, Kingsdale Shareholder Services at 1-866-851-3215 or [email protected].
Ticker Symbols
Toronto Stock Exchange: COS
OTCQX: COSWF
Canadian Oil Sands Limited
COS holds a 36.74 percent interest in the Syncrude project, the largest producer of light, sweet synthetic oil from Canada's oil sands. As a pure play in Syncrude, COS provides investors with long-life, light crude oil exposure and since 2001 has paid dividends totaling $7.9 billion.
For more information please visit www.rejectsuncor.ca
SOURCE Canadian Oil Sands Limited
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