Shell stakes $70 billion to acquire BG Group

The Board of Royal Dutch Shell Plc on Wednesday announced its decision to acquire BG Group Plc, one of the world’s largest gas liquids companies.

Details of the planned acquisition are expected to be disclosed later on Wednesday during a formal briefing by the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Ben van Beurden.

But the Boards of the two companies have already announced that they have agreed on the terms of a recommended cash and share offer to be made by Royal Dutch Shell plc for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of BG Group Plc.

The value of the proposed acquisition is put at almost $70 billion, which Shell said it would pay with 70 percent of its own shares and 30 percent in cash.

Shell said the price is a 50 percent premium to BG’s closing share price at the New York Exchange on Tuesday.

BG, formerly a part of British Gas, appears an attractive asset to Shell in view of its unique position in the industry as a major player in liquefied natural gas, LNG sector.

LNG is a fuel whose use is growing fast as the preferred fuel for power and industry.

Shell is a major investor in the LNG business, particularly in Nigeria where it is a major player, controlling 25.6 per cent of the shares in Nigeria LNG Limited, a multi-billion dollar investment designed to harness Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and produce LNG and natural gas liquids, NGLs for export.

BG Group, which is active in more than 20 countries, including Nigeria, has a strong record in exploration, with additional annual average production capacity of one billion barrels of oil equivalent in its portfolio over the last decade.