Yes, It IS Just Business
SU CEO Steve Williams' job is to do the best he can on behalf of SU shareholders. COS CEO Ryan Kubik's job is to do likewise for owners of COS shares. Why would Williams pay more than he has to, or that he thinks COS is worth to SU and its shareholders?......... Williams may or may not sweeten the offer, but anyone who says he's "bullying" COS is wrong - COS shareholders are free to reject Williams' current offer or any future offer (should he make it) - Williams is just doing what he's paid to do which is create the most value he can for SU shareholders, and it's silly to criticize him for doing his job. That said, I think SU is in the driver's seat here Sure, they would like to increase their stake in Syncrude and add to their reserves, but they appear to have the cash, the balance sheet strength, and the large, integrated asset base to weather the downturn in oil prices for quite a while with or without COSs stake in Syncrude. Meanwhile, COS has the biggest slice of the Syncrude pie and its reserves, but they a) have no control over the future price of oil b) are 100% un-hedged c) have old equipment that is prone to breakdowns and missed production targets d) likely won't have much cash to invest in the project unless and until the price of oil rises significantly from its current levels, and no one knows when that will be......Lastly, the 12% interest Suncor has in the Syncrude operation represents a very small portion of their business, whereas the 37% stake in Syncrude is the ONLY asset COS owns - thus, I doubt Williams is losing sleep over the current or future state of Syncrude, whereas Kubiks job begins and ends with the Syncrude project and COSs stake in it.......