KNOC stands firm on Dana offer

Dana Petroleum again called on shareholders to shun an 1,800p-per-share offer from Korea National Oil Corporation after the state-owned oil giant said it would not raise its hostile offer for the British explorer.

However, Dana's shares fell below the offer price for the first time, closing down 24p at 1,785p, after KNOC said its £1.87bn bid was its highest and final offer.

In a defence document published earlier this week, Dana argued that its shares were worth at least 2,270p apiece. But KNOC said it had already raised its offer once, by 100p per share, and would not go any higher unless another bidder emerged.