Takeover target Faroe Petroleum clinches Norwegian oil deal

Faroe Petroleum has clinched a deal to boost its oil production in the Norwegian North Sea while battling a hostile takeover bid from its largest shareholder. Faroe told shareholders that the asset swap arrangement with Norwegian major Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, would raise its oil production by between 7,000-8,000 barrels of oil a day from next year. The Aberdeen-based producer said the output boost could allow it to return cash to shareholders and push through a sustainable dividend policy. The company's CEO told investors that the shareholder sweetener was not designed to see off the bid by DNO to snap up the company.