25th Jun 2025 17:25
(Alliance News) - Shell PLC is holding early stage talks to acquire rival BP PLC, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
WSJ sources said talks between company representatives are active and BP is considering the approach carefully.
Potential terms of any deal couldn't be learned, and a tie-up is far from certain, the WSJ said, adding discussions are moving slowly.
A Shell spokesman told the WSJ: "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."
A BP spokesman declined to comment.
BP has struggled after an ill-fated push away from fossil fuels into renewable energy.
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which owns more than 5% of BP's shares, has pushed for changes at the energy company since at least February, underscoring the oil and gas producer's exposure to a potential takeover bid from a rival.
BP is also in the process of trying to sell its lubricants business that operates under the Castrol brand and has indicated it could unload at least part of its solar unit, Lightsource. More recently, BP said that its Chair Helge Lund, a key architect of the company's low-carbon strategy, plans to step down.
A deal would rival the USD83 billion megamerger that created Exxon Mobil Corp at the turn of the century and would be the largest deal of the year.
In May, Bloomberg also reported Shell was considering making a bid for BP.
Shares in BP closed down 0.8% at 365.10 pence each in London on Wednesday for a market value of GBP57.62 billion. In New York, BP was trading 4.6% higher at USD31.19.
Shell closed down 0.8% at 2,566.00p for a market value of GBP150.89 billion.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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