PARIS (Reuters) - French oil and gas explorer Maurel & Prom signalled it would talk to potential buyers and partners after striking a deal which means Gabon no longer has the right to veto any change in its shareholding. Maurel & Prom, created 200 years ago as a trading company between Bordeaux and the French colonies, has long been the subject of takeover talk as analysts believe it lacks the scale to fulfill its potential on its own, and its CEO said last year he had been in contact with possible buyers. [ID:nL5N0HD2KT] However, the prospects of a deal were clouded by the firm's relations with Gabon. The African country clinched a better deal on profit-sharing with Maurel & Prom last month, raising its share of an exploration and production agreement to 20 percent from 15 percent, with a proportional increase in mining royalties. [ID:nL6N0LT20Q] Maurel & Prom Chief Executive Jean-Francois Henin said on Thursday that, as part of that deal, Gabon had agreed to drop its veto. "There was an exchange, a rise in their share of production, (...) and we got an increase in our rights," he told analysts on a conference call. "The Gabonese republic had a veto right, so what we did effectively was to buy our freedom." "We have no intention to remain as we are," the CEO added, without giving more details. Earlier on Thursday, the group posted a 68 percent rise in 2013 operating profit to 312.4 million euros ($431 million) and said it was exploring promising new oil fields in Gabon and Mozambique. Net income rose 53 percent to 62.5 million euros, but it decided not to pay a dividend for 2013, against a 0.4 euro per share payout for 2012. Its proven (P1) reserves rose 161 percent to 141.7 million barrels of oil equivalent by Jan 1, although proven and possible reserves (P1 plus P2) fell 6 percent. Shares in the mid-size group were down 4.2 percent by 0921 GMT, the biggest decline on the French SBF 120 index. "The rise in proven reserves and the group's growth targets are positive, but the dividend's cancellation is a negative signal that should weigh on the stock," CM-CIC Securities analysts said in a note. The CEO said any future payout would have to wait for the dividends from the Gabonese business to be paid to the parent company before being redistributed. "You have to wait until next year for profit generation from Gabon's dividends to make any distribution possible," Henin said. "Fiscal year 2014 will test the value of our prospects in Mozambique, the results of which are potentially extremely significant for Maurel & Prom," the group said in a statement. ($1 = 0.7254 Euros)