Oil and gas drilling group EMER International has raised its offer for Global Marine Energy to 16p a share.

The new cash offer from Hong Kong-quoted EMER is 3p up on its agreed bid last month and nearly 78 per cent higher than the AIM-quoted oil services group's price of 9p in September before the bidding started. EMER says Gartmore, with 22.12 per cent of Global, has given 'irrevocable undertakings' to vote in favour of the bid, now worth £11.6 million.

Meanwhile, US drilling rig specialist IDM Group, which had been negotiating a reverse bid for Global before the EMER deal was mooted, is maintaining a watching brief. IDM is advised by finance group BankOra.

Global, with Noble & Co as adviser, has had a volatile history since broker Seymour Pierce floated it as MOS International at 4p in 2001. The shares soared to 95p three years ago before collapsing to 7.87p last September.

The shares have now rallied to EMER's offer price of 16p. Hold on.

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