COS shareholders are being urged by Canadian Oil Sands to reject the recent Suncor hostile takeover bid, while Suncor is encouraging these same shareholders to take the offer in order to protect the value of the stock that they hold. COS is arguing that the offer, set at $4.5 million, is undervalued and that shareholders would be smart to say no. A letter sent to shareholders from COS, signed by Donald Lowry who is the board chairman and by board member Arthur Korpach, stated “Our shareholders are telling us that now is not the time to sell. Not when COS has just completed major projects that secure low-cost production for decades and particularly not when COS is poised to benefit far more than Suncor from an eventual oil price recovery. Our shareholders want us to capture the upside of their COS investment, not lock-in the downside. Our shareholders are telling Suncor the same thing.”

The letter from Canadian Oil Sands about the Suncor takeover bid offer continued by stating “Suncor disparages Syncrude. So why does it want to own more of it? Because it knows Syncrude is a scarce, valuable asset.” The takeover offer ends on January 8, 2016, and in the letter COS says that Suncor is fear-mongering. Suncor says that their offer includes a premium for the COS shareholders, whiile CO says this is far from true. The arguments and heated words between company executives have been intense since the hostile takeover bid was announced. According to Steve Williams, the CEO for Suncor, “By tendering to our offer, you will receive a significant premium to the pre-offer value of your COS shares (today valued at 40%)(1) and an immediate dividend increase of 45% above what you get today from COS.”