Denver-based Barrett Resources Corp., still stating publicly that it is barring the doors against a hostile takeover by giant Royal Dutch/Shell, postponed its annual shareholder meeting set for early May, as it continues to search for strategic options to Shell’s cash offer of $55 per share. Barrett rejected the amount as inadequate, but Shell has continued the pursuit, extending its offer through midnight last Friday.

Following a few weeks of back-and-forth accusations and announcements, Barrett set an April 19 record date for Shell’s consent solicitation (see Daily GPI, March 8; March 12; March 26). In a brief statement last week, Barrett said that it had postponed the annual meeting scheduled May 3 “in light of its previously announced and continuing process to maximize shareholder value.” It did not announce a new date for the meeting.

Though it is about 100 times larger than independent Barrett, Shell’s bid to acquire Barrett shares has so far been less than overwhelming. As of April 5, Shell had only acquired 63,087 of Barrett’s estimated 33 million shares. Barrett’s board of directors had pleaded with stockholders to not tender their shares to Shell.

“We are pleased with our process,” said Barrett CEO Peter A. Dea in a statement. “It is proceeding expeditiously and in a manner designed to maximize value to our shareholders. We continue to urge shareholders not to tender into the Shell offer or grant any written consents they may seek.”

Shell is particularly interested in acquiring Barrett’s natural gas assets in the Rocky Mountain region, where the energy giant has few assets. Barrett is focused on natural gas and oil exploration and production, gas gathering, marketing and trading activities almost exclusively in the Rocky Mountain region. Its properties cover Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, with Mid-Continent assets in Kansas and Oklahoma. It also has some assets in the Gulf of Mexico region offshore Texas and Louisiana.

On Friday, Barrett’s stock closed at $60.00, down slightly from stock prices posted earlier in the week.

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