KNOC will not raise Dana takeover bid - paper

LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) [KOILC.UL] plans to announce it will not raise its 1.67 billion pound ($2.57 billion) hostile takeover bid for Dana Petroleum DNX.L, the Times reported on Thursday.

Without citing sources for its information, the newspaper said KNOC plans to release a statement by the end of this week ruling out the possibility of increasing its offer in return for board recommendation.

A formal announcement is expected as early as Thursday.

Dana on Wednesday rejected KNOC's bid, citing independent experts it hired to value the company which found it was worth considerably more. [ID:nLDE68704Y]

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For graphic on key deal stats: link.reuters.com/nar26n

For a Factbox on KNOC: [ID:nTOE67J026] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Valerie Lee)