Shell shareholders approved the US$70 billion takeover of BG Group in a landslide vote of 83.08% in favor of the mega merger today (27 January) in The Hague, The Netherlands.
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Shell CEO Ben van Beurden. Image from Shell Flickr. |
A total of 16.92% of Shell shareholders voted against the merger.
BG shareholders will vote on the merger tomorrow (28 January), and if the deal gets approval from BG shareholders, the transaction is expected to be complete on 15 February. The merger will however still be subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary conditions, including the sanction of the scheme of arrangement to implement the combination by the High Court of Justice.
“I am delighted with the positive shareholder vote and the confidence that shareholders have shown in the strategic logic of the combination of Shell and BG,” Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell said. “Our immediate focus is on the successful completion of the transaction and we now await the results of tomorrow’s BG shareholder vote.”
In mid-December, Shell cleared the final regulatory approval from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for the BG acquisition.
In early December, the merger deal was approved by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board. Antitrust clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was received in mid-November.
The European Union granted unconditional merger clearance in September, Brazil’s Council for Economic Defense gave its approval, and in June, the merger was cleared by the US.
Last week in its full year 2015 results, Shell announced that there will be a reduction of about 10,000 staff and contract positions across both BG and Shell to streamline and integrate the two companies, should the merger be finalized. The Anglo Dutch company also recorded a significant 54% drop in full year earnings when compared to last year.
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