UK Business Sec: No Reason To Assume Future BP Takeover Bid

20th Jul 2010 13:31

LONDON (Dow Jones)--BP PLC (BP) is strong and there is no reason to assume any takeover bid for the company, U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable said Tuesday. "It's actually a very strong company financially, in terms of its cashflow and its balance sheet and there is no reason to assume that there will be a takeover," Cable said in comments to lawmakers. Cable also confirmed the new government is looking at reforming the U.K.'s takeover code and will consider possible changes once the independent U.K. Takeover Panel presents its report over the summer. Cable said he doesn't want to "prejudge" the process by commenting on whether he would back raising the threshold for a takeover from the current 50%. "The system needs reform," Cable said. -By Laurence Norman, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9270; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 20, 2010 08:31 ET (12:31 GMT)