Chinese antitrust authority approves Shell’s takeover of BG Group

By AIBING GUO and RAKTEEM KATAKEY
Bloomberg

Royal Dutch Shell got clearance from antitrust authorities in China for its takeover of BG Group, removing the final regulatory hurdle for the company’s biggest- ever deal. Shares of both companies rose in London.

The clearance from China’s Ministry of Commerce follows similar approvals from authorities in Brazil, the European Union and Australia, the companies said in statements Monday.

BG Group and Shell will now seek assent from their shareholders and plan to complete the transaction in early 2016.

Shell’s takeover of BG Group, valued at about $70 billion when it was announced in April, has gone through highs and lows as crude prices slumped below $40/bbl from near $60 when the deal was announced. The outlook for the acquisition got a boost in October after BG raised its oil and natural gas production forecast for this year.

“This is a strategic deal that will make Shell a more profitable and resilient company in a world where oil and gas prices could remain lower for some time,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement. “I am delighted we now have all the pre-conditional approvals needed to move to the next important phase.”

Shell’s B shares rose as much as 1.2% in London to 1,478 pence, while BG Group gained as much as 3% to 953.7 pence.

Shell in April offered to pay 0.4454 of its B shares and 383 pence in cash for each BG share. The discount of BG’s shares to Shell’s implied offer price dropped to 8.7% on Monday compared with 10.4% on Friday. It narrowed to as little as 6.4% on Dec. 4, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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