Canadian Oil Sands Urges Rejection of Suncor Bid

Canadian Oil Sands Ltd on Monday urged shareholders again to reject Suncor Energy Inc's hostile bid.

The Alberta Securities Commission had given shareholders until Jan. 4 to decide how to respond to Suncor's C$4.3 billion bid, which Canadian Oil Sands has said undervalues the company.

Suncor, Canada's largest oil producer, is not expected to extend the offer when it lapses on Friday.

"Suncor's substantially undervalued bid is set to lapse, and when it does they say they will walk away. For all of us, as shareholders, this scenario reveals a far more compelling and valuable alternative: Independence," Chairman Don Lowry said in a letter to shareholders.

The letter comes as Canadian Oil Sands' shareholder rights plan expires on Monday. The company had adopted the plan, also known as poison pill, two days after Suncor made the offer in early October.

Canadian Oil Sands said on Monday it had the financial resources to weather the steep drop in oil prices.

Reporting by Shubhankar Chakravorty