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View Full Version : China Oil Company Bids $18.5B for Unocal



ODShowtime
06-23-2005, 12:45 PM
by JOE McDONALD, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 1 minute ago

BEIJING - China's third-largest oil producer made a hostile $18.5 billion bid Thursday for U.S. oil company Unocal Corp., marking the communist nation's most ambitious attempt yet to acquire a Western corporation and setting up a possible showdown with American politicians over national security issues.

The purchase by state-owned CNOOC Ltd., if completed, would be the biggest yet in a multibillion-dollar wave of foreign acquisitions by Chinese companies trying to secure a place as global competitors.

It comes amid a flurry of foreign oil and gas deals by China as its government, facing stagnant production at home, tries to secure energy abroad for its booming economy, already the world's third-biggest oil importer behind Japan and the United States.

The offer sets the stage for a possible takeover battle with Chevron Corp., reflecting China's new willingness to adopt Wall Street's more aggressive tactics. Chevron had offered to buy Unocal for a lower price of $16.6 billion — a proposal that Unocal's board already had accepted. Until recently, hostile takeovers by Chinese companies abroad were almost unheard of.

El Segundo, Calif.-based Unocal, the ninth biggest U.S. oil company, said it would evaluate the CNOOC offer, but that its board's recommendation to shareholders to accept the Chevron offer remained in place.

Such a deal, if it goes forward, will almost certainly meet obstacles in Washington. Even before CNOOC made its offer, two members of Congress appealed to
President Bush last week to review it for possible security threats. They warned of China's "pursuit of world energy resources."

CNOOC chairman and CEO Fu Chengyu insisted Thursday that national security wasn't an issue, calling it a friendly bid and saying it would be superior for Unocal shareholders.

"This transaction is purely a commercial transaction," he said in a conference call with reporters. "We are confident that the U.S. government will support this project."

Elsewhere, China has forged oil and gas deals in countries ranging from Sudan to Kazakhstan to Venezuela. Beijing is competing with Tokyo for access to Russian oil from a planned Siberian pipeline.

China used to meet its own needs from domestic oil fields but became a net importer in the 1990s and now is one of the world's biggest consumers, along with the United States and Japan.

The bid for Unocal is "a case of the Chinese trying to secure supply for their own purposes," said Daniel Hynes of ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia. "With their oil needs growing exponentially, securing this asset would put them in very good stead for the future."

In other industries, top state-owned Chinese companies recently have made a string of high-profile acquisitions abroad in an effort to establish a global presence.

CNOOC's offer is the biggest Chinese attempt at an unsolicited takeover of an American company — but not the first.

Appliance maker Haier Group and two U.S. private equity firms offered $1.28 billion for Maytag after the American company agreed to be bought by another U.S. firm. Maytag says it is considering the Haier consortium's offer.

Earlier, computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. bought IBM Corp.'s PC business for $1.75 billion in a friendly deal that analysts said would expand the U.S. company's access to China.

Troubled British automaker MG Rover courted a Chinese firm as a possible corporate savior, trying to sell itself to state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. But the Chinese partner decided against a deal and Rover collapsed.

CNOOC said its deal with Unocal would more than double its production and increase reserves by nearly 80 percent. The company estimated that 85 percent of the combined reserves of both companies are located in Asia and the Caspian Sea region.

Chevron offered in April to acquire Unocal in a deal that would give Unocal shareholders a choice of $65 per share in cash, Chevron stock or a mix of stock and cash.

Chevron, based in San Ramon, Calif., reaffirmed its bid, saying its offer "combines compelling value, regulatory certainty and accelerated timing, providing a superior transaction for Unocal stockholders."

Chevron noted that a deal with CNOOC would require new regulatory reviews in the United States and elsewhere.

CNOOC's chief financial officer, Yang Hua, told Dow Jones Newswires that his company is "prepared to closely cooperate ... to get U.S. approval for this deal." The company plans to retain "substantially all employees, including those in the U.S," noting that Chevron, in contrast, plans layoffs, he said.

"We believe the offer will be very good for America as we are going to protect U.S. jobs while continuously marketing (Unocal's) products in the U.S.," Yang said.

___

Associated Press business writer Gary Gentile in Los Angeles and correspondents Peter Enav in Taipei and Min Lee in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050623/ap_on_bi_ge/unocal

FORD
06-23-2005, 03:19 PM
http://www.usccc.org/newhome/mem-8.jpg
Poppy, his brother Prescott Bush Jr. and their Communist Chinese friend Siva Yam don't appear to be all that concerned about the proposed deal.

Funny how multinational criminal corporatization takes precedence over the citizens of any country, isn't it? :mad:

ODShowtime
06-23-2005, 04:00 PM
I just don't want us selling anything strategically important to the Chinese. I don't trust 'em.

Redballjets88
06-23-2005, 04:04 PM
i have no trust for them. ford shut up you know ur boy clinton was butt buds with the chinese

FORD
06-23-2005, 04:14 PM
Bullshit. Grow up and don't believe the shit you hear on FAUX News.

Redballjets88
06-23-2005, 04:15 PM
i dont watch news...and when i do its usuallu cnn bc nothing else come in clear in my room

Redballjets88
06-23-2005, 04:19 PM
it really hits the point in the last paragraph

Clinton and China Armed Iraq
Charles R. Smith
Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003
In 1991 U.S. intelligence forces detected a shipment of French-made printers bound for Iraq. The printers were to be used by computers that ran the French-made Kari air defense network sold to dictator Saddam Hussein during the late 1980s.
Unknown to the Iraqis, U.S. cyber-warriors acquired access to the printers as they were being trans-shipped through Jordan. It was here that the first seeds of information warfare began.

American intelligence agents substituted a U.S.-made chip inside the computer printers. The little chip gave allied forces an unfair advantage later in the skies of Iraq.

The special chip did not contain any virus codes or destructive programs. All it could do was squeak.

The special chip was designed to give off a high-frequency radio signal whenever the printer was in use. Each time the Iraqis used their new printers, the chip would squeak. The signal gave allied warplanes the exact position of the computer in the Iraqi air defense system.

Each time the Iraqis would power up a new defense center, the telltale squeak would give away its position, and the allied aircraft would strike.

The squeaky chip was a great idea but not entirely foolproof. One night U.S. war fighters detected a squeak from a previously unused Iraqi bunker in downtown Baghdad. The F-117s quickly struck the site with two laser-guided bombs.

The next day, the allies were horrified to discover that the Iraqi bunker had actually been full of civilians hiding from the bombing raids. Apparently, one of the civilians had decided to power up a computer printer during the night, a move that would later prove to be fatal.

Tiger Song

The next battle between Iraq and allied armed forces will not be so easy. Iraq has updated its Kari air defense network with a Chinese-made fiber-optic system code-named "Tiger Song."

The Tiger Song system is best described as an Internet for surface-to-air missiles. Previous generations of air defense systems had to directly link radar sites to missile batteries.

The classic pattern of Soviet-style air defense missile sites took the form of a six-pointed star. Each point of the star contained one missile launcher, and the radar itself was located at the center along with the command control unit.

Today, using the Tiger Song fiber optic communications system, Iraqi air defense missile sites are spread out, mobile and difficult to detect. Missile launchers, radars and command centers can be placed anywhere as long as they can hook up to the fiber-optic network. Radars, computers, and missiles now share the whole picture carried live over the Tiger Song network.

Allied war fighters have already had a difficult time with Tiger Song. The system allows radars that were previously associated with a specific missile or gun system to trade information. Radar sites for anti-aircraft guns that could not reach high-flying allied planes can now pass target information to large missile launchers, which can reach altitudes over 80,000 feet.

In addition, the Chinese network allows Iraqi missile batteries to move quickly. The network has many hidden prepared positions, ready to be hooked up to a waiting radar, command center or missile launcher. The units are then able to move from position to position, hooking up to the network when necessary.

Clinton Exports to Chinese Army

The ultimate irony is that the Tiger Song system is made from U.S.-manufactured parts and equipment exported to China during the Clinton administration. In 1994, Chinese Gen. Ding Henggao obtained the advanced fiber-optic system through his contacts inside the Clinton administration.

According to documents obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, Ding was a close friend of Clinton Secretary of Defense William Perry. In 1994, Ding had risen to command the Chinese army's military research bureau "COSTIND," or the Commission on Science Technology and Industry for National Defense.

COSTIND, according to the General Accounting Office, "oversees development of China's weapon systems and is responsible for identifying and acquiring telecommunications technology applicable for military use."

Stanford professor John Lewis, a close friend and a paid Defense Department consultant to Perry, was the key board member of the project. In 1994 John Lewis teamed with Gen. Ding to buy an advanced AT&T fiber-optic communications system for "civilian" use inside China.

Defense Department officials initially objected to the proposed sale and would not allow the export to take place. According to the Far Eastern Economic Review, Lewis had his friend Secretary Perry write a letter on his behalf to U.S. government officials, favoring the fiber-optic export to China.

The communications system slipped past U.S. exports laws as a joint U.S.-Chinese commercial venture called "Hua Mei." The Chinese part of the venture was run by a newly formed firm named "Galaxy New Technology."

Democrats and Chinese Generals


Dr. Lewis located Adlai Stevenson III, the former Democrat senator from Illinois, to lead the American side of the joint venture. Gen. Ding's wife, Madam Nie Li, headed the joint project as the Chinese co-chairman.

Lewis then contracted AT&T to ship the secure communication system directly to a Chinese army unit using Galaxy New Technology as a front. AT&T officials who sold most of the equipment and software were adamant that there was no need to check the Chinese firm because a "civilian," Madam Nie Lie, ran the company.

The export took place through Ron Brown's Commerce Department, using a special license waiver that had never been issued before and has never been issued since.

However, the so-called civilian firm Hua Mei was actually packed with Chinese army officers and experts. Madam Nie Lie was not only the wife of Gen. Ding Henggao; Madam Nie was actually Lt. Gen. Nie Lie of the Chinese army.

Another so-called civilian member of New Galaxy Technology, according to a Defense Department document, was Director and President "Mr. Deng Changru." Deng was actually Lt. Col. Deng Changru of the People's Liberation Army, head of the Chinese communications corps.

Still another Chinese army officer on the Galaxy New Technology staff was Co-General Manager "Mr. Xie Zhichao," better known in military circles as Lt. Col. Xie Zhichao, director of the Chinese army's Electronics Design Bureau.

In August 1994, Dr. Lewis and Secretary of Defense Perry traveled to Beijing to meet with Gen. Ding. According to the official list of attendees, Lewis accompanied Perry as his paid "personal" consultant. Thus, Lewis, Perry and Ding met together as the deal for the fiber-optic system was being executed.

Paid by Chinese Army and U.S. Defense Department

In fact, Lewis drew three paychecks for the deal. The documents show that Lewis worked for Stanford University, the Chinese army and for the U.S. Defense Department as Perry's consultant, all at the same time. Neither Perry nor Lewis deny the allegations that they assisted the Chinese army.

In 1994, the Chinese spymaster Gen. Ding personally penetrated the U.S. Defense Department at the highest levels, using his contacts with Secretary Perry to obtain a secure fiber-optic network.

The Clinton Department of Justice, led by the inept Attorney General Janet Reno, refused to investigate the Hua Mei deal despite repeated protests from Congress and the Defense Department.

Instead, the General Accounting Office (GAO) wrote a scathing report noting the military links of the Hua Mei deal and of the failures of the Clinton administration.

"The equipment was exported to Hua Mei without Commerce review, even though the company was partially controlled by several high-level members of the Chinese military," states the GAO report.

In addition, the GAO clearly noted the military value of the Hua Mei deal included, "sharing of intelligence, imagery and video between several locations, command and control of military operations using video-conferencing, and medical support and telemedicine between the battlefield and remote hospitals."

"When used in a military application, both types of equipment requires encryption devices to protect communications from interception," stated the GAO report.

Thanks, Clinton

Thanks to Bill Clinton and his Defense Secretary William Perry, the Chinese army's Electronics Design Bureau modified the American fiber-optic communication system, changing it into the Tiger Song secure air-defense system. The Chinese army then exported the newly modified system to Iraq.

Today, Tiger Song stands ready to kill U.S. pilots.

Thank you, Bill Clinton and William Perry, for your services to the Chinese People's Liberation Army and to the Iraqi armed forces that now protect Saddam Hussein.

FORD
06-23-2005, 04:19 PM
Link?

Redballjets88
06-23-2005, 04:22 PM
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/1/30/171355.shtml

FORD
06-23-2005, 04:33 PM
Yeah, newshax, of course..... :rolleyes:

Nickdfresh
06-23-2005, 04:36 PM
Originally posted by Redballjets88
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/1/30/171355.shtml

What a bunch of horseshit!

Clinton bombed IRAQ like a practice range and NEVER ARMED THEM. It was the REAGAN Admin along with BUSH SR. that gave them logistical & intelligence support!
http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/images1/rumsfeld_&_hussein1.jpg

ODShowtime
06-23-2005, 05:11 PM
That article is before the Iraq War. Not to denigrate the sacrifices of our armed forces during the war, but we seemed to come out with pretty small losses in fighter and bombers, right? So that Tiger Song bullshit wasn't really very decisive.

Warham
06-23-2005, 05:23 PM
I'm glad we can find photos twenty years ago of US delegates shaking hands with dictators around the globe. Here's a more recent photo of one of ours shaking hands with a current dictator who has his trigger finger close to the red button right now...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1180000/images/_1183626_albright300.jpg

http://rankinrob.typepad.com/rankinblog/Kim-Albright-thumb.jpg

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/east/10/23/albright.northkorea.ap/story.albright.kim.aptn.jpg

Nickdfresh
06-23-2005, 05:38 PM
Originally posted by Warham
I'm glad we can find photos twenty years ago of US delegates shaking hands with dictators around the globe. Here's a more recent photo of one of ours shaking hands with a current dictator who has his trigger finger close to the red button right now...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1180000/images/_1183626_albright300.jpg

http://rankinrob.typepad.com/rankinblog/Kim-Albright-thumb.jpg

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ASIANOW/east/10/23/albright.northkorea.ap/story.albright.kim.aptn.jpg

It's not the same...Firstly, we've been to war with IRAQ twice, and some of the equipment we sent over there resulted in the deaths of AMERICANS! Also, SADDAM used some of the chemical equipment purchased in the 80's to gas the KURDS.:mad:

RUMSFELD also gave SADDAM intelligence and military advice on how to proceed against IRAN, which the IRAQIs in-turn later used against KUWAIT.

It's not just a fucking photo-op! RUMMY was screamin' for war against IRAQ.

Phil theStalker
06-23-2005, 05:50 PM
Commies.

When did we stop fighting them?

Fight them economically now or fight them with a gun late... it's too late.


:spank:

Warham
06-23-2005, 06:17 PM
Originally posted by Nickdfresh


It's not just a fucking photo-op! RUMMY was screamin' for war against IRAQ.

So Rumsfeld went to shake hands with Hussein in 1984, knowing that George W. Bush was going to attack Iraq in 2003?

LoungeMachine
06-23-2005, 06:20 PM
Originally posted by Warham
So Rumsfeld went to shake hands with Hussein in 1984, knowing that George W. Bush was going to attack Iraq in 2003?


No, he probably figured HE'd be back to do the job himself:cool:

Warham
06-23-2005, 06:23 PM
You'd have to believe in some kook theory (BCE) to dream up that scenario.

FORD
06-23-2005, 08:00 PM
Rummy gave Saddam chemical weapons in the 80's and he was the one who sold the North Korean Dumbass Jr. a nuclear reactor in the late 1990's.

Now can anybody place Rummy in Iran any time in the last 20 years, that's the question.

ODShowtime
07-06-2005, 04:51 PM
Wed Jul 6, 9:02 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - China criticized the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday for demanding a review of an attempted takeover of California-based oil producer Unocal Corp. by China's CNOOC Ltd.

"We demand that the U.S. Congress correct its mistaken ways of politicizing economic and trade issues and stop interfering in the normal commercial exchanges between enterprises of two countries," the Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement.

The House last Thursday voted 333-92 in favor of a measure to block the Bush administration from approving CNOOC's $18.5 billion bid.

It also passed, with an overwhelming majority, a nonbinding resolution calling on the Bush administration to immediately conduct a review of the possible takeover, noting that it could threaten U.S. national security.

The bid by CNOOC, China's top offshore oil producer, topped a $16 billion-plus cash and stock offer that Unocal had already accepted from Chevron Corp .

CNOOC's largest shareholder is the Chinese government.

The Chinese firm's bid has become a complicating factor in diplomatic ties between China and the United States and comes at a sensitive time when oil prices are near record highs.

Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit China on Saturday and Sunday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050706/pl_nm/energy_china_usa_dc

Nickdfresh
07-06-2005, 05:06 PM
Really, I demand that CHINA revalue its currency to reflect market value!

ODShowtime
07-06-2005, 05:07 PM
I know! I demand you to shut the fuck up China!

FORD
07-06-2005, 07:33 PM
What really sucks is that the only alternative to the Chinese buying UNOCAL is to let Chevron/Texaco buy them. Either way, we're fucked. We either give more economic control to a foreign superpower or more to a domestic oil monopoly. Both are bad for America, and it's too bad that DLC appeasment pussies have voted alongside Republicans to permit all this ridiculous deregulation of energy industries. :mad:

ODShowtime
07-06-2005, 10:26 PM
Originally posted by FORD
What really sucks is that the only alternative to the Chinese buying UNOCAL is to let Chevron/Texaco buy them. Either way, we're fucked. We either give more economic control to a foreign superpower or more to a domestic oil monopoly. Both are bad for America, and it's too bad that DLC appeasment pussies have voted alongside Republicans to permit all this ridiculous deregulation of energy industries. :mad:

Well you sure paint a rosy picture here. I guess it's not your fault reality stinks.

Big Train
07-06-2005, 11:04 PM
So who, Stalin, should be given control of this company? China is the highest bidder. Chevron is the best move to make, although a lower bid. Nobody else could pony up the dough or expertise in the oil business. It's run by a few players cuz it's a tough and mature business in a late stage of it's development.

Should we just give it to some upstart Berkley company who promises to be sensible? I KNOW your gonna say yes...