Centrica was considering increasing its offer for
North Sea oil and gas explorer Venture Production on
Tuesday. The chief executive of Venture, Mike Wagstaff, and
chairman John Morgan met Sam Laidlaw, Centrica’s chief
executive, and Roger Carr, its chairman, on Monday to discuss a
possible “friendly” 1.1 billion pound ($1.61 billion) takeover.
Venture is the tenth-biggest holder of gas reserves in the UK
sector of the North Sea, and the meeting was understood to be
co
