By REUTERS
Shareholders of Royal Dutch Shell approved the company’s US$49 billion (RM209.2 billion) takeover of BG Group on Wednesday, clearing one of the final hurdles for a deal that will create the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) trader.
As many as 83% of shareholders voted in favour and 17% against the deal, one of the largest in the energy sector in the past decade.
BG shareholders will cast their votes in London on Thursday.
“Our immediate focus is on the successful completion of the transaction and we now await the results of tomorrow’s BG shareholder vote,” said Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden in a statement.
Shares in BG were down 0.2% at 1237 GMT, while Shell’s B shares traded 2.4% lower, compared with a 1.7% decline in the European oil and gas index.
Over 40% of Shell’s shareholders also own around half of BG’s stock, according to Reuters data.
If the deal is approved by all shareholders on both sides, the two companies will merge on Feb 15. Shell will then become the world’s most powerful LNG trader and gain access to valuable oil resources offshore Brazil and in Australia.
— By Karolin Schaps
You must be logged in to post a comment.