With a $130 billion market cap, and billions of dollars in unknown liabilities, BP is still one big toxic mess.
Why BP is not a takeover target
By Cyrus Sanati: November 26, 2012: 9:35 AM ET
FORTUNE — It’s one of the largest companies in the world. Could it really be a takeover target?
Some in the industry see BP as fresh deal meat following the company’s long-awaited settlement with U.S. authorities in connection with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But while such a mega-merger may make Wall Street bankers salivate, even after selling off billions of dollars in assets, BP simply remains too big and too risky to buy. Specialization is the name of the game these days in the oil patch. BP would need to break up into more manageable pieces before any oil major would consider opening its wallet.