The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is in the red this afternoon. Meanwhile, Santos' planned merger with Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) is facing another delay.
At the time of writing, the Santos share price is $6.905, 0.65% lower than its previous close.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 0.07% today, while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.02%.
Let's take a look at the latest news of the creation of a regional oil giant.
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New merger delays
The Santos share price is sliding today amid Oil Search's Papua New Guinean court date being pushed to tomorrow.
Oil Search was initially set to face court in late October. On the final session of last month, it was announced the appearance had been pushed back until today.
Now today is here, the first court date has been delayed until tomorrow at the request of the Papua New Guinea National Court.
According to reporting by the Australian Financial Review, full documentation for the merger was meant to be released to the ASX today.
Prior to the delays, the companies expected their merger would be effective on 2 December.
However, that schedule will likely be scrapped. Oil Search stated it will update the market when a new timetable has been approved by the court.
Upon completion of the merger, the resulting entity will have a $21 billion valuation. The all-scrip deal will see Oil Search holding around 38.5% of the new company and Santos owning approximately 61.5%.
In addition to approval from Papua New Guinea courts, the deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.
Santos share price snapshot
Since the proposed merger between Santos and Oil Search was announced, the Santos share price has gained around 14%.
It is also currently 7% higher than it was at the start of 2021.
