UPDATE 1-Australia's Roma board recommends QGC's $48 mln bid

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PERTH, July 16 (Reuters) - The board of Australian energy firm Roma Petroleum NL RPM.AX said on Wednesday shareholders should accept the revised A$49.4 million ($48.4 million) takeover offer from Queensland Gas Co Ltd QGC.AX(QGC).

Roma said in a statement the rival bid by Bow Energy Ltd (BOW.AX) was not superior to the offer made by QGC and Roma directors who hold Roma shares have accepted the revised QGC offer.

Roma said its largest shareholder Oil Drilling and Exploration Ltd, which has a 19.16 percent stake in Roma, also accepted the revised QGC offer, bringing QGC's interest in Roma to 30.09 percent as at July 15.

Roma holds a significant interest in a coal seam gas tenement in the Surat Basin, located in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland.

The deal would boost boost QGC's coal seam gas reserves, which could underpin the expansion of its proposed 3-4 million tonnes a year liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at Queensland.

Bow Energy shares dropped 7.8 percent to A$0.295 on the news. Roma shares were flat, while QGC was up 0.4 percent at A$4.75. The broader market .AXJO was up 0.4 percent.

"The board considers that the known cash component of the revised QGC Offer, combined with the comparative liquidity of QGC shares ... provides a higher degree of certainty of value than the Bow offer," Roma said.

Roma's board, however noted, the Bow Energy offer could be attractive to a Roma shareholder who has a high risk profile and who wants to retain an exposure to the coal seam gas sector without realising any cash reward at this time.

Last week QGC raised its bid for Roma to 11 cents and 0.0177 QGC shares for each Roma share, in response to a rival offer from Bow Energy. QGC's bid values Roma at about A$0.19 a share, according to Reuters calculations.

Bow had offered five of its shares for every seven Roma shares. ($1=1.020 Australian Dollar) (Reporting by Fayen Wong, editing by Denny Thomas)