CSR SELLING DELHI TO EXXON UNIT, DROPS DELHI FLOAT CSR Ltd <CSRA.S> and Exxon Corp <XON> unit <Esso Exploration and Production Australia Inc> said CSR has agreed to sell its <Delhi Australia Fund> (DAF) to Esso for 985 mln Australian dlrs. The sale is effective from tomorrow, they said in a joint statement. The previously announced float of part of its Delhi interest will not now proceed, CSR said in the statement. Delhi Australia Fund owns <Delhi Petroleum Pty Ltd>, which holds an average of 25 pct in the Santos Ltd <STOS.S>-led Cooper and Eromanga Basin gas and liquids projects. In addition to the purchase price, CSR will share equally in any returns due to increases in crude oil and condensate prices over certain levels for liquids produced from Delhi's interests in the next two years, the statement said. "The Esso proposal to purchase all the Delhi interest will be more beneficial to our shareholders than proceeding with the float," CSR chief executive Bryan Kelman said in the statement. Kelman said the sale of Delhi would enable CSR to focus efforts on expanding business areas such as sugar and building materials in which CSR has had long and successful management experience and strong market leadership. With the sale, CSR will be able to expand those businesses more aggressively and earlier, he said. As reported separately, soon after announcing the Delhi sale CSR launched a takeover bid for the 68.26 pct of <Pioneer Sugar Mills Ltd> that it does not already hold, valuing its entire issued capital at 219.6 mln dlrs.