Shell to takeover BG for £35bn

Royal Dutch Shell investors voted to groups’s £35 bn takeover of rival producer BG Group, making it the biggest energy deal of the decade.

BG shareholders met today to formally approve the transaction  and will become effective from 15th February 2016, ending 20 years of independence, which had old British Gas.

Ben Van Burden, Shell CEO, told the company’s share holders ahead of the vote that the BG takeover would “provide a springboard to reshape” the group. Shell, however will gain billions of barrels in Brazilian deepwater oil reserves and become giant of global liquefied natural gas. “It is tremendous opportunity to create value to the BG shareholders and our Shell holders and will accelerate and de-risk our strategy”.

Simon Henry Shell’s Chief finance officer, played down the prospects of oil staying at low levels, of £50 a barrel, over a long term.

Shell has previously said BG takeover would lead to $30bn in asset sales an 10,000 job losses, when consolidated and should “break even” with an oil price in the “mid $60”.