Shell in April offered 0.4454 of its shares and 383p for each BG share, valuing the transaction at $70 billion and offering a 50% premium.
As Shell’s shares have dropped with the price of oil the deal’s value has declined to $51 billion. But Shell says it is better off with BG rather than alone in a downturn, while in the longer term the acquisition puts it in a much stronger position.
The firm also sees opportunities to cut costs through the deal. In December it said it would cut 2,800 jobs from the combined group, if the deal goes ahead – on top of the 7,500 redundancies announced last July
BG shareholders will vote on the deal on Thursday.
