ONGC to seal Imperial buy in 2-½ mths - co source

NEW DELHI Nov 11 (Reuters) - India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) will complete the acquisition of Russia-focused Imperial Energy IEC.L within two and a half months, a senior company source said on Tuesday.

"All approvals have been given to us. In 28 days, we have to make an offer to shareholders, then they will tender their shares. The entire process will be over in two months to two and a half months," the ONGC official, who is directly involved in the deal but did not wish to be identified, told Reuters.

ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, said in a statement on Tuesday Russian authorities had provided the last of the necessary regulatory approvals.

Asked about funding for the deal, the official said: "We can fund the deal through internal resources, but there are indications from some banks. It all depends on the interest rate." (Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Mark Williams)