ENERGY

Magma Board Urges Shareholders to Reject Bid: San Diego-based Magma Power Co. said it found California Energy’s $840-million tender offer inadequate, describing it as an attempt to acquire Magma at a price that is “less attractive to Magma and its stockholders than remaining independent.” Last Thursday, California Energy began offering $35 cash per share for the first 51% of Magma’s outstanding shares as part of an overall per-share acquisition price of $25 cash and $10 in California Energy stock. In a release, Magma criticized the tender’s “coercive” feature of offering all cash only to the first 51% of shareholders and said the bid is overly conditional and “does not remotely reflect Magma’s intrinsic value and long-term strategic promise.” Magma operates seven geothermal energy plants in the Imperial Valley. Officials at Omaha-based California Energy, which operates six geothermal plants in the state, were not available for comment.