Finland Times

 

Royal Dutch Shell announced on Wednesday it has reached a deal to buy British oil and gas exploration company BG Group valued at 47 billion pounds (around 70 billion US dollars).

 

BG shareholders will receive 3.83 pounds per share in cash, plus 0.4454 Shell B shares, equivalent to 13.5 pounds per BG share based on 90-day trading volumes on 7 April 2015, the two companies said in a statement.

 

The Combination will result in BG Shareholders owning approximately 19 percent of the Combined Group, the statement said.

 

"This is an important transaction for Shell, accelerating the delivery of our strategy for shareholders. The result will be a more competitive, stronger company for both sets of shareholders in today's volatile oil price world," said Jorma Ollila, Chairman of Shell.

 

Helge Lund, CEO of BG, said: "The offer from Shell delivers attractive returns to shareholders and has strong strategic logic. BG's deep water positions and strengths in exploration, liquefaction and LNG shipping and marketing will combine well with Shell's scale, development expertise and financial strength."

 

BG Group is the third largest energy company in Britain. It was created in 1997 when British Gas demerged into two separate companies: BG Group and Centrica.

 

BG Group took control of exploration and production while Centrica took charge of the retail business of the former British Gas. BG currently employs about 5,200 people in 24 countries and regions.