Shell buys BG Group for US$70.2b to close gap with US ExxonMobil
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ROYAL Dutch Shell agreed to buy smaller rival BG Group for 47 billion pounds (US$70.2 billion) in the first major energy industry merger in more than a decade, closing the gap on market leader US ExxonMobil after a plunge in prices.
Anglo-Dutch Shell will pay a mix of cash and shares that values each BG share at around 1,350 pence, the companies said. This is a hefty premium of around 52 percent to the 90-day trading average for BG, setting the bar high for any potential counter-bid by a company like Exxon, which has said it would also use the oil markets downturn to expand.
The third-biggest oil and gas deal ever by enterprise value will bring Shell assets in Brazil, East Africa, Australia, Kazakhstan and Egypt, including some of the world’s most ambitious liquefied natural gas projects.
Shell is the world’s leading LNG company, and it would get BG’s capacity in LNG logistics — complex infrastructure that includes terminals, pipelines, specialized tankers, rigs, super coolers, regasification facilities and storage points.
“We are seeing a gasification of energy demand. Shell clearly recognizes this,” said Richard Gorry, director at JBC Energy Asia. “That said, Shell is still taking a big gamble because if the price of oil and gas doesn’t go back up (in the next 24 months), I would imagine this might put them in a difficult position in terms of cash flow.”
Shell yesterday said the deal would boost its proven oil and gas reserves by 25 percent.
Stitched together by Shell CEO Ben van Beurden and BG Chairman Andrew Gould, the tie-up comes after oil prices halved since last June, putting a premium on access to proven assets rather than costly exploration. Record-low interest rates have made it easy to raise cheap funding for big corporate deals.
“We have been scanning quite a few opportunities, with BG always being at the top of the list of the prospects to combine with,” van Beurden told a conference call. “We have two very strong portfolios combining globally in deep water and integrated gas.”
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