Extracts from a BloombergBusinessweek article by James Paton and Rebecca Keenan published 23 July 2014
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, defended a plan to buyback about $2.7 billion of stock from Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) amid concern investors may reject the deal.
Woodside’s buyback is part of last month’s $5 billion deal in which Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, will trim its 23 percent stake in the Australian company. It’s possible that Woodside investors voting on the transaction Aug. 1 will block the buyback, according to Macquarie Group Ltd.