TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Suncor Energy has reaffirmed that it will not sweeten its hostile offer for takeover target Canadian Oil Sands (COS) – just four days before the offer is scheduled to expire.

Suncor CEO Steve Williams said in a conference call with the investment community on Tuesday that the company believed its C$4.3-billion all-scrip offer was “full and fair”, reiterating that Suncor had “no plans whatsoever” to increase the offer.

Also on Tuesday, COS shareholder Seymour Schulich published an open letter to fellow shareholders in national Canadian newspapers, urging them not to tender shares to Suncor Energy’s hostile bid.

In the letter, the prominent Canadian businessman declared his opposition to Suncor’s offer, stating that Suncor was "offering an unacceptable price for an irreplaceable asset". He also accused Suncor of trying to “pull a fast one” on COS shareholders.

“The fact is, Suncor needs Canadian Oil Sands more than we need them . . . I'm not selling at this price and you shouldn't either,” the chartered financial analyst said, arguing that Suncor was indeed willing to pay more to sustain its significant oil sands operations in Alberta’s oil patch.

COS on Monday issued a "declaration of independence", restating its view that shareholders were better off in the long run if the company remained independent and closely levered to the price of oil, despite sustained weakness in crude prices. Further, chairperson Don Lowry on Monday revealed that an independent review of alternatives had not delivered superior offers.

Williams renewed his appeal to COS shareholders to accept the takeover offer before the extended deadline of 18:00 Mountain Time on January 8 had passed.

Under the terms of the offer valued at about C$4.3-billion, each COS shareholder would receive one-quarter of a Suncor share for each share tendered. The deal required the support of two-thirds of Canadian Oil Sands shareholders.

COS held a 36.74% stake in Syncrude, its main asset and one of the largest oil sands operations north of Fort McMurray, while Suncor owned 12%.

COS defended its position, stating that the Suncor bid was inadequate, opportunistic and exploitive and that it failed to recognise that COS was in a strong position to withstand low oil prices – with superior leverage to prices and the ability to emerge with even greater value when they recover.

Williams strongly disagreed, pointing to the long-term consensus that the price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was not expected to rise above $55/bl until 2020, making it harder for COS to reverse recent dividend cuts in favour of paying back $1-billion in debt.

He argued that, should the offer lapse, it could cause a downfall in COS’s stock price to well below its pre-offer price.

WTI on Tuesday traded at decade lows, down 1.96% at $36.04/bl.