Sinopec to Buy Daylight Energy for $2.1B

China Petrochemical Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner, agreed to buy Daylight Energy Ltd. for $2.1 billion in its largest acquisition this year, gaining Canadian oil and shale-gas reserves.

Sinopec Group offered 70 percent premium to Daylight’s average price over the past 20 trading days and more than double the average 32 percent premium for comparable cash bids for North American energy explorers, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The deal would give the Beijing-based company access to more than 300,000 acres of land in areas rich with oil and natural gas, adding to its expansion outside Asia after falling crude prices made valuations attractive. Sinopec Group and Cnooc Ltd.  are among Chinese companies that have bought almost $30 billion of Canadian energy assets in the past five years.