UPDATE 3-Canadian Oil Sands CEO says buyer interest extends beyond Suncor

(Adds comments from Canadian Oil Sands CEO and link to
interview)
By John Tilak and Euan Rocha
TORONTO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Canadian Oil Sands Ltd COS.TO
expects strong interest from a wide range of buyers, its chief
executive said on Monday, as the company asked shareholders to
reject a hostile takeover offer by Suncor Energy Inc SU.TO .
After a review, the board concluded Suncor's bid was weak
and substantially undervalued the company's ownership in
Syncrude, the country's biggest synthetic crude project.
Canadian Oil Sands is the largest shareholder in Syncrude,
with a 37 percent stake. Suncor owns a 12 percent interest.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nMKWhz5MHa
"The offer they put in front of us is substantially
inadequate. It substantially undervalues the asset," Chief
Executive Ryan Kubik told Reuters. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12J1LD
He said the asset is unique and the company was open to a
potential merger, joint venture or sale.
"There's interest from a broad range of buyers," Kubik said.
"Whether it be private equity, whether it be pension funds, or
international oil companies. There aren't too many places in the
world where you can go get 1.6 billion barrels of reserves and
clear visibility on it."
He declined to comment on whether the company has held
discussions with any other parties, saying the focus has so far
been on reviewing the Suncor offer.
Kubik added the company would be willing to engage with any
party willing to come forward with a full and fair offer.
Suncor shares fell about 1.6 percent and Canadian Oil Sands
shares slipped 1.8 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Suncor Chief Executive Steve Williams explained the offer
reflected a new business reality. "It also represents an
opportunity for investment in a financially stronger, more
diversified and stable company that has considerable upside
potential in a rising price environment," he said in a
statement.
Canadian Oil Sands provided updated projections on Monday,
raising cost savings estimates for the Syncrude project for 2015
to C$1.3 billion ($1.00 billion) from C$900 million.
The company also lowered its production forecast for
Syncrude to a range of 92 million to 97 million barrels from 96
million to 107 million barrels for 2015.
Suncor, Canada's largest oil producer, had offered to buy
Canadian Oil Sands earlier this month, for C$4.3 billion.
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Following the offer, Canadian Oil Sands adopted a poison
pill to thwart Suncor's hostile takeover bid. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1273JN
($1 = 1.2967 Canadian dollars)