Santos said XRG, an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, had made an indicative cash offer of $5.76 a share, valuing the Adelaide-based company at $18.7bn. It represents a 28 per cent premium to Santos’s closing share price last week.

Santos, an Australian oil and gas producer, has announced the receipt of a non-binding indicative proposal from a consortium led by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to acquire all the ordinary shares of Santos through an arrangement process.

ADNOC, through its investment arm XRG, with Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ) and private equity firm Carlyle has offered $5.76 (A$8.89) per Santos share, which was a 28 per cent premium to the Australian company’s close on Friday.