Shell shares drop amid BP takeover speculation

Shell shares fell sharply on the Amsterdam stock exchange Monday following reports that the oil and gas company is considering a takeover of British rival BP, a move that would be one of the largest deals in the oil industry’s history.

The stock dropped more than 2 percent, making Shell one of the biggest decliners on the AEX. The losses followed Bloomberg’s report that Shell is working with advisors to explore acquiring BP but is waiting for BP’s market value to fall further before making an offer.

BP’s market value has dropped by nearly one-third over the past year and is now around 66 billion euros. The London Stock Exchange was closed on Monday, so no updated share price was available.

Climate-focused backlash

The potential acquisition has drawn strong criticism from climate-focused investors, particularly Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, a Dutch group of climate-conscious shareholders. Van Baal urged Shell to abandon any plans to acquire BP and instead invest the money in sustainable energy.

Van Baal argued that the deal could cost “tens of billions of euros,” money he believes would be better spent accelerating Shell’s transition away from fossil fuels. He compared the potential acquisition to Shell’s 52 billion dollar purchase of BG Group in 2016, which he said should have been better directed toward clean energy initiatives.

Both Shell and BP have recently scaled back their climate goals. BP has announced plans to significantly increase investments in oil and natural gas. Under CEO Wael Sawan, Shell has deprioritized sustainability and climate targets, shifting its focus away from renewable energy.

“Shell and BP have both loudly claimed in recent years that they are committed to clean energy,” Van Baal said. “But they have done very little. Now they say it doesn’t work—but they never really tried.”