Shares in BP climbed yesterday on fresh speculation that rival Shell is weighing up a takeover offer.
Shell has reportedly called in advisers to look at a potential bid, but it is waiting for BP’s valuation and oil prices to fall further before deciding whether to pounce.
A deal, which would be one of the biggest in the sector, would strike a devastating blow to both BP and London’s stock market.
The 124-year-old firm’s share price lags its peers following an ill-fated pivot towards renewable energy.
While the arch-rivals were once neck and neck, BP is now worth around £56billion, compared with Shell’s £148billion valuation.
The renewed takeover interest comes as BP faces pressure from activist investor Elliott to go further and faster to boost shareholder value.
Target? Shell has reportedly called in advisers to look at a potential bid for rival BP, but it is waiting for a valuation and for oil prices to fall further before deciding whether to pounce
Chief executive Murray Auchincloss in February admitted that the company got its green strategy wrong as he unveiled a ‘fundamental reset’ of BP’s strategy.
Auchincloss scrapped targets to cut oil production, watered down renewable investment plans and said the company would spend more on fossil fuel extraction.
But in a major setback, the oil major revealed last week that profits in the first quarter of the year tumbled 49 per cent from £2.01billion to £1.03billion.
And Auchincloss’ plan could be derailed by a turbulent oil market which has been rocked by Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Shares in BP closed up 1.4 per cent, or 4.85p, at 355.15p. Shell lost 2.1 per cent, or 52.5p, to 2434p.
But analysts were not convinced that a bid for BP fits with Shell’s strategy.
And a Shell spokesman said: ‘As we have said many times before, we are sharply focused on capturing the value in Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline and simplification.’
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