German oil and gas player Wintershall has made a voluntary offer for Norwegian independent oil company Revus AS, and the price values the Stavanger-based outfit at €581 million ($740 million).

Revus shareholders are being offered 110 kroner a share, a 145 percent premium on the stock’s value last trading day. The company's stock rose 115 percent on the news.

The Revus board recommended the offer, although their readiness to do so surprised some observers who saw the company as a rising star on the North Sea scene and one intent on independent growth.

“The Board believes Wintershall, a global oil and E&P company is well placed to support Revus with resources and expertise in implementing its strategy,” a Revus statement said, adding, “The Board understands that Wintershall intends to maintain the current operations, management and employees of Revus.”

Wintershall said in a statement that Revus’s 60 licenses in Norway and the United Kingdom were the target. A communique called Revus “an excellent strategic fit”.

The company said the offer marked a 44 percent premium on the average Revus stock price of the past six months.

The Kassel-, Germany based Wintershall is owned by BASF in Ludwigshafen and is under pressure to secure large, reliable gas reserves for its rich home market.

Some 27 percent of Revus shareholders have offered their “pre-acceptance” of the Wintershall overture “unless a higher offer is presented” and Winterhsall does not match it.

Tags: Revus, Wintershall