Markets Ithaca to snap up rivalOil and gas firm Ithaca Energy said yesterday it had agreed to buy smaller rival Valiant Petroleum for £203million. March 2nd 2013, 12:02 am 1 min read Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Oil and gas firm Ithaca Energy said yesterday it had agreed to buy smaller rival Valiant Petroleum for £203million.