Monaco-based OG Oil & Gas has increased its offer to take control of New Zealand Oil and Gas by one cent, and won the backing of the company’s directors, according to local reports.

The new offer of 78 cents a share is within the range of an independent valuation.

OG, which is part of the Monaco-based Ofer Global, has said it wants to combine its expertise in energy infrastructure with NZ Oil and Gas’s exploration and production.

OG Oil & Gas already owns just under five percent of NZ Oil and Gas and has said it would like to buy up to another 67.5 percent, although it has indicated it is willing to settle for something over 50 percent.

The improved offer is being recommended by NZ Oil and Gas’s independent directors, who said OG’s ideas for the company matched their own vision for the future.

“I am confident that with OGOG’s backing we will see New Zealand Oil and Gas invest in exciting new opportunities for growth,” NZ Oil and Gas chairman Rodger Finlay said.

OG has reportedly suggested it might join NZ Oil and Gas in looking at buying a number of assets from Shell.

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