Shell shareholders vote for £33bn takeover of BG despite opposition

Investors voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deal at an extraordinary meeting in The Hague

Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden (Getty)

Shell’s $47bn (£33bn) takeover of rival oil and gas producer BG is almost certain to become official on Thursday, after the Anglo-Dutch company’s shareholders waved through the deal.

Shell investors voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deal at an extraordinary meeting in The Hague, with 83 per cent backing the tie-up, despite concerns about the plunging oil price. The vote represented the last potential obstacle to the takeover being approved, since the final step in the process – a poll of BG shareholders – is widely expected to back the plans.

“It is a tremendous opportunity to create value for BG shareholders and our Shell holders. It will accelerate and de-risk our strategy,” said Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden.

While the vote passed with a clear majority, a sizeable minority opposed the deal, worrying that Shell may be paying too much for BG given the sharp drop in the price of crude, which has tumbled from $55 a barrel when the deal was struck last April to about $31 now.

Standard Life, one of Shell’s major investors, voted against, arguing that it was “value destructive” for investors. Cavendish Asset Finance also voted against the deal, which its senior investment manager Paul Mumford wanted to see renegotiated at a lower price.

“When Shell first made an offer for BG, the BG share price was struggling and at that stage it looked to be a valuation that was fair on both parties. Now one feels that maybe the deal should have been renegotiated,” he said.

Mr Mumford added that Shell’s case was helped because many of the large institutions owned shares in both firms. This made them more likely to vote for the deal in their capacity as Shell investors because the deal was so good for BG, in which their funds also owned shares.

But Shell continued to stress the benefits of the deal, arguing that it was better off with BG than alone while the downturn lasts.

Mr van Beurden said the acquisition would put Shell in a much stronger position by creating the world’s biggest trader in liquefied natural gas and greatly increasing its access to Brazil’s deepwater oil reserves.

Shares in Shell rose 41.5p to 1,462p, while BG gained 34.6p to 1,029.5p.