British Petroleum Co. said it canceled its...

British Petroleum Co. said it canceled its bid for 15% of Britoil after the offer expired Wednesday morning. BP previously said that once its offer expired, it would either make a higher bid for Britoil or buy more Britoil shares on the open market. Britoil has agreed to a friendly deal with Atlantic Richfield Co. under which Arco will acquire a 49.9% stake in Britoil for cash and by swapping Arco’s oil and gas exploration and production assets outside North America for new Britoil shares.