Shell, BP Explore Consolidation

Photo credit: Reuters

Back in February, after activist investor Elliott - led by Mark Singer - announced it had taken a strong position in BP stock, I wrote at Forbes that the move could ultimately lead to an effort by Shell to acquire the struggling British oil giant.

Here is what I wrote in part then:

This is a situation that bears watching, especially since Shell has long been known to covet an eventual buyout of its British competitor. Shell has never been quite willing or able to pull that trigger in the past, but if Elliott should succeed in forcing a major reorganization at BP that involves breaking the company up into smaller bites, Shell and other big suitors might well jump in to consume them.

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