Shares in Dragon Oil were under pressure yesterday amid fears that its proposed £2.36 billion takeover by its largest shareholder would not go ahead.

Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), which is owned by the sovereign wealth fund of Dubai, said this month that it would pay £1.15 billion for the 48 per cent of the shares in the Turkmenistan-focused oil explorer that it does not own, although the deal has upset several minority shareholders.

Baillie Gifford, Dragon’s second-largest shareholder with a 4.2 per cent stake, said that the deal understated the fundamental and strategic value of the company and that it would vote against the takeover.

Noster Capital, a hedge fund that holds a 0.12 per cent stake, spoke out against the proposed 455p offer, calling Enoc’s move opportunistic and inadequate. The fund also accused the company’s independent committee, which continues to recommend the deal, of not acting in the best interest of all shareholders.

JPMorgan, another big shareholder, is believed to be selling out of Dragon, indicating it is sceptical that a deal will be done and other large investors are believed to be unhappy and intending to vote against the deal. Shareholders representing 75 per cent of Dragon’s shares not owned by Enoc must vote in favour of the takeover for it to go ahead. The shares fell 8p to 439p.

African Diamonds gained 4½p to 51p after De Beers agreed to sell its entire stake in the AK6 Botswana project, in which African has a 29 per cent stake, to Lucara Diamonds.

Treveria fell 0.09p to 0.1125p after the property investor warned that it faced a potential tax liability that could hit its cash resources, forcing it to scrap plans to return cash to investors.

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