Iceland may reverse Magma bid for HS Orka: Björk

OTTAWA (AFP)– Pop megastar Bjork told a Canadian newspaper Friday that Iceland's government is prepared to reverse Canada's Magma Energy Corp's takeover of geothermal energy producer HS Orka.

Bjork made the comments after last week presenting Iceland's prime minister and finance minister with a petition calling for a referendum on foreign ownership of the country's natural resources.

"They told us they want to reverse the (Magma) deal and make sure Iceland?s energy companies and the access to its energy stay in public property," Bjork told the daily National Post.

"They are serious," she added.

Magma said however that Bjork's comments were just"speculations and hearsay."

Bjork has since July headed a campaign to prevent the takeover of the Icelandic energy provider, announced in May, which has received regulatory approval in Iceland.

The petition welcomed by Iceland's Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir was signed by nearly 50,000 people in a country with a population of just 320,000.

Bjork had held a three-day karaoke marathon in a bid to get more signatures for the petition, which is largely aimed at blocking the sale of Iceland's HS Orka energy group to Canadian company Magma Energy.

A committee appointed by the government to examine the deal, which would mark the largest foreign investment in Iceland since the country's economy all but collapsed in late 2008, has not yet presented its findings.

HS Orka produces about nine percent of Iceland?s electricity.

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