AUSTRALIAN GAS LIGHT CO COUNTER-BIDS FOR TMOC
<The Australian Gas Light Co> (AGL) said it
will offer one share plus one dlr cash for every two shares in
oil and gas producer <TMOC Resources Ltd> in a counter-bid to
the previously reported takeover offer by Santos Ltd <STOS.S>.
    The offer values TMOC shares at 4.75 dlrs each, based on
AGL's closing price of 8.50 dlrs on Friday. TMOC shares jumped
to 4.60 dlrs on the announcement from its Friday closing price
of 4.15.
    The AGL offer, the third to be made for TMOC this year,
compares with the Santos cash offer of 4.00 dlrs a share.
    Based on TMOC's issued capital of 62.08 mln shares, the AGL
offer values the entire company at 249.9 mln shares.
    AGL said in a statement that it already holds 10.5 pct of
TMOC's issued capital. This compares with the Santos stake of
3.1 pct when it announced its bid in March 23.
    <Elders Resources Ltd> began the auction for TMOC about
three months ago with an unsuccessful 2.55 dlrs a share
on-market offer that has since lapsed.
    AGL said its offer is above the upper end of the range of
values placed on TMOC by its advisers in the company's response
urging rejection of the Elders Resources bid.
    AGL said it will make the same offer for TMOC's convertible
notes. Accepting share and note holders will participate in
AGL's planned one-for-one bonus issue.
    It said TMOC is already a partner with AGL in the Alice
Springs to Darwin gas pipeline and has a number of businesses
complementary with those of AGL.
    AGL is the New South Wales natural gas utility while TMOC
has extensive onshore holdings, mainly in Queensland where it
owns the Moonie oil field and in the Northern Territory where
it operates and holds 43.75 of the Mereenie oil-gas field. It
also has interests in a number of gas or oil pipelines.
 REUTER
