SKYNEWS: SHELL FACES TAKEOVER BID: “insiders claiming French oil company Total is planning a raid.”
Posted 15 August 04
Beleaguered oil giant Shell is preparing for a takeover bid, with insiders claiming French oil company Total is planning a raid.
Shell, the Anglo/Dutch group, is worried that Total is the only firm capable of gaining regulatory approval for a buy-out.
Total’s chief executive Thierry Desmarest is understood to be keen to expand the company’s market presence through a merger or acquisition.
Total has a market cap of £68bn compared with Shell’s £94bn.
Shell bosses have previously admitted the need to boost its oil reserves.
But acquisitions have been out of the question, due to soaring oil prices resulting in a reluctance to sell by potential targets.
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