Senex Energy Ltd. said it intends to recommend an improved offer from South Korea's Posco International Corp. that values its equity at 852.1 million Australian dollars (US$630 million).

Senex said the latest offer of A$4.60/share represents an increase on Posco's original proposal of A$4.40/share, and it has agreed to extend exclusive negotiations through to Nov. 26. Senex also said it intended to pay a dividend of up to A$0.05 per share for the six months through December in due course.

Posco plans to allow Hancock Energy to possibly acquire a stake in the business should its takeover be successful, Senex said.

Separately, Senex said it has agreed to buy two undeveloped gas fields from the Australia Pacific LNG venture for A$80 million. The gas fields, known as PL 209 and PL 445, are adjacent to Senex's Atlas natural-gas development and would help to lift Atlas's annual production to 30 petajoules in 2024.