Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has offered to buy Cove Energy, a firm with significant interests along the east coast of Africa.
Shell said in a statement Wednesday that it has offered more than $1.5 billion to purchase Cove, while Cove said its board would recommend the offer to shareholders.
Cove holds minority shares in oil and gas exploration projects in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya.
Two of its licenses are for the massive natural gas fields discovered last year off the coast of Mozambique.
Shell says its offer is conditioned on written approval from Mozambique's minister of mineral resources, Esperanca Bias.