Atlantic Richfield said it may bid for...

Atlantic Richfield said it may bid for all of Britoil PLC if rival British Petroleum PLC attempts to take the smaller oil company over. Last week, Arco launched a massive buying sweep on the London Stock Exchange to purchase a 7.7% Britoil stake, and said at the time that it would seek to raise the stake to 29.9%, paying $6.40 for each Britoil share. Arco’s buying spree, which was halted at the 7.7% level by Britain’s Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, followed an announcement three days earlier that British Petroleum wanted to increase its 14.9% stake in Britoil to 29.9%.