Reuters breaks multiple beats on resources M&A, IPO

Reuters was first with news on Aug 11 that three big Chinese oil firms and India’s ONGC and Petrobras, were bidding for an Angolan oilfield stake being sold by U.S. energy firm Marathon Oil. The story also put the price of the stake at almost $2 billion, helping to lift Marathon Oil’s shares on a day when other oil shares fell. Reuters also broke the news that Marathon Oil was insisting on $2 billion for the offshore block. The story helped lift Marathon’s shares by 3.8 percent, outpacing rival U.S. oil companies. The story was unmatched by competing news services. Bloomberg News quoted the Reuters report for its coverage. On Aug 13 that said the sale of Russia’s Imperial Energy could happen within days, which sent shares in the oil producer up 9 percent. Lastly, Reuters scored big with a beat on PT Krakatau Steel’s on-again-off-again IPO taking a big step forward when a source said that Indonesia’s top steelmaker had begun hiring banks to help it raise $300-$400 million and that ArcelorMittal had expressed interest in taking a strategic stake in the company. The Reuters report was unmatched by competing news services.