The High Court of Justice in England and Wales has today sanctioned the scheme of arrangement between the Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group, the two companies confirmed.
It is expected that the effective date of the scheme will be Monday 15 February 2016, which is when the court order is expected to be delivered to the registrar of companies.
Trading in BG Shares on the London Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities will be suspended with effect from 6.00 p.m., 12 February 2016.
The announcement comes in the wake of Royal Dutch Shell’s decision on cancelling the USD 14.4 billion bridge credit facility which was supposed to be used for its acquisition of BG Group. According to Shell, the acquisition will be financed from its own cash.
The USD 52 billion merger will create the world’s largest LNG producer.
Shell believes that, by around 2020, the combined group will have two strategic growth businesses – deep water and integrated gas – that could potentially each generate $15-$20 billion of cash flow from operations per annum.