LNGWN poll: shareholders say yes to Shell-BG merger

Shareholders of BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell will approve the multi-billion merger of the two energy giants at meetings scheduled to take place this week, according to two polls conducted by LNG World News.

Last week, LNG World News created the second poll for our readers to give their opinion on how they think BG’s shareholders will vote on January 28 on the proposed merger as this would be the final step in approving the multi-billion deal.

The first poll revealed that 75.2 percent of Shell’s shareholders would approve the deal, while 24.8 percent of the shareholders would say no to the combination worth $70 billion at the time of the offer in April.

According to the results from the second poll, 79 percent of BG’s shareholders would say yes to the merger, while 21 percent of the shareholders would be against the deal.

This means that the merger would proceed as both Shell and BG need 50 percent shareholder approval plus one vote to approve the combination. BG also requires votes representing 75 percent of the total value of its shares in favour.

In total, for both polls, there were 700 votes by our readers from all around the globe. The majority of the votes came from the Netherlands, the UK and the U.S., followed by Australia, Japan, India, U.A.E., Qatar, Norway, Singapore, Belgium, Russia, Switzerland, Brazil, Spain, Brunei, Canada etc.

LNG colossus

If approved at shareholder meetings on January 27 and 28, Shell-BG merger will create the world’s largest LNG shipping operator, managing and operating around 70 vessels that carry chilled gas.

The combined company will also have one of the world’s largest LNG portfolios including multiple production sources around the world.

Merger value

Since the proposed merger was announced last April, the price of crude oil has continued its descent and is more than 40 percent lower than when the deal was announced.

The deal is currently priced at around $49 billion, less than $20 billion from the value in April.

Job cuts after merger

Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden said last week that the Hague-based giant expects a reduction of 10,000 staff after completion of the proposed merger with BG.

Synergies from the BG combination “will include a reduction of some 10,000 staff and direct contractor positions in 2015-16 across both companies, as streamlining and integration of the two companies continue,”  van Beurden said.

According to the CEO, capital investment for Shell and BG combined in 2016 is currently expected to be $33 billion, around a 45% reduction from combined spending, which peaked in 2013.

LNG World News Staff