Shell Shareholders Vote for BG Takeover

Shell shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of buying BG, with 83% of the votes on January 27 being in favour of the deal.

If BG shareholders approve the offer as expected at meetings January 28, the transaction is expected to complete on February 15, 2016, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary conditions, including the sanction of the scheme of arrangement to implement the combination by the High Court of Justice, the Anglo-Dutch major said January 28.

CEO Ben van Beurden said he was “delighted with the positive shareholder vote and the confidence that shareholders have shown in the strategic logic of the combination of Shell and BG. Our immediate focus is on the successful completion of the transaction and we now await the results of tomorrow’s BG shareholder vote.”

Despite the likelihood of the deal going through, with no major upsets expected and most of the shareholders canvassed in support of it, there was still some perceived risk, judging by the discount at which BG shares were trading in the weeks before.

While Shell’s shareholders were voting, on the other side of the world, BG was announcing a 50-50 joint venture with Keppel in Singapore, to set up a marine bunkering business using LNG sourced from BG Group’s – soon to be Shell’s – diversified LNG portfolio.

BG’s head of LNG Steve Hill – one of four BG top executives who will retain his job after the merger – said Singapore was one of the world’s most important strategic ports and he looked forward to supplying LNG as a fuel for ships in this market with first delivery expected in 2017. 

William Powell