Shell acquires BP, potentially becoming this year’s largest merger-and-acquisition deal

Shell holds a position of advantage in the negotiations, with its stock price outperforming BP’s significantly over recent years. Like BP, Shell is headquartered in the UK but operates globally, with a market capitalization exceeding $200 billion. BP has lagged behind its major oil peers due to its hasty pivot from fossil fuels to renewable energy, compounded by years of management turmoil and operational disasters. Elliott Investment Management—an activist investor holding more than 5% of BP’s shares—has been pushing for corporate change at least since February this year, underscoring the heightened risk that this energy company could face a takeover bid from a rival. In response, BP has taken several steps to appease investors. Earlier this year, it announced plans to increase oil and gas output while drastically cutting investments in clean energy. BP is also seeking to sell its Castrol lubricants business and has indicated it may divest at least part of its solar subsidiary Lightsource. Most recently, BP announced that Helge Lund—its chairman and chief architect of its low-carbon strategy—plans to step down. Meanwhile, Shell has focused on its most profitable businesses, pledging to expand oil and gas production while scaling back green-energy targets. Shell CEO Wael Sawan recently stated publicly that the company’s threshold for large-scale deals remains high. In May, Shell announced a multi-billion-dollar share buyback program—the latest installment of its long-term, large-scale repurchase initiative. According to a prior Wall Street Journal report, Shell has been working with banks to plan the sale of its chemical assets in Europe and North America. An acquisition of BP would require Shell to undertake integration over several years; cultural clashes and the likely need to divest overlapping assets would complicate the process. Yet the deal could broaden Shell’s global trading footprint and strengthen its dominance in sectors such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Analysts and investors also note strong complementarity between the two companies’ operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Acquiring BP would offer Shell opportunities to spread costs across a larger operational base—and simultaneously eliminate a key competitor. Moreover, Shell is politically more palatable to UK regulators, who might oppose a foreign buyer acquiring BP—a century-old company whose origins trace back to British imperial oil exploration in Persia.

Fire-sale at 5% of original value: £1 symbolic breakup—UK hydrogen flagship project collapses

Operator First Bus purchased 23 of the buses at £30,000 each—totaling £690,000—and converted them into battery-electric buses. The remaining two buses are slated to be acquired by hydrogen company GeoPura for a total of £126,000, to continue serving hydrogen-related applications. Five years ago, these 25 hydrogen-fueled double-decker buses were the stars of Aberdeen’s energy transition. In 2021, Aberdeen pioneered the deployment of 15 Wrightbus hydrogen fuel-cell double-deckers—the world’s earliest large-scale commercial fleet of hydrogen-powered double-decker buses. In 2022, the fleet expanded by another 10 vehicles, bringing the total to 25. As a major hub of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas industry, Aberdeen’s ambitions extended far beyond a handful of hydrogen buses: it aimed to build, atop its existing petroleum foundation, a complete hydrogen economy—including green hydrogen production, refueling stations, and hydrogen-powered transport. Accordingly, in 2022, Aberdeen launched a commercial partnership with BP to establish a demonstration center for hydrogen-powered public transit. This initiative leveraged a solar power plant to produce green hydrogen and was projected to generate 700 jobs. But problems soon emerged. The hydrogen refueling infrastructure failed to operate reliably. In the second half of 2024, local hydrogen refueling facilities ceased normal operations due to equipment failures and shortages of replacement parts. As a result, all 25 hydrogen buses lost access to a stable hydrogen supply and were gradually taken out of service—left idle in depots ever since—until their recent sale. Besides the buyers who ultimately acquired 24 buses, four other bidders submitted offers. Two companies proposed accepting some buses free of charge. A third bidder offered just £1 per bus. By comparison, First Bus’s £30,000-per-bus offer was deemed “not bad” by Aberdeen City Council—even though it amounts to only about 5.4% of each bus’s original purchase price. With the hydrogen buses sold off, Aberdeen City Council next plans to dissolve its joint venture with BP. The council expects to acquire BP’s stake for a symbolic £1. Reports indicate the joint venture had received total investment exceeding £40.3 million—£17 million from Aberdeen City Council and £23.7 million from BP. The project had attracted substantial external funding, including £7.5 million from the Scottish Government and €2 million from the European Commission’s Joint Initiative for Hydrogen Vehicles across Europe (JIVE) program—funds now effectively lost. Meanwhile, Aberdeen is preparing to sell additional hydrogen assets—including hydrogen production, storage, and refueling equipment. GreenPower plans to acquire certain related facilities for approximately £1.3 million, plus nearly £300,000 for site leasing. A confidential document further reveals that Aberdeen—the lead partner—wishes to exit the TH2ISTLE hydrogen valley collaboration in northeast Scotland “at the first available opportunity.” Having fully turned its back on hydrogen, Aberdeen has immediately pivoted to its next priority: converting the hydrogen buses into electric buses—and using the £816,000 proceeds from the sale to build one of Scotland’s largest electric-vehicle charging hubs.

BP raises roughly $1 billion from Aker BP stake sale

Nov 4, 2026

BP raised $1.06 billion selling a 5% stake in Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP, reducing its holding to 10.9%. The move strengthens BP's balance sheet, with 2026 divestment proceeds now forecast at around $9 billion.

reuters

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