Shell’s multi-billion takeover of BG has been given the go-ahead by Chinese officials, surpassing its final clearance hurdle.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued unconditional merger clearance.
BG Group’s chief executive, Helge Lund said: “Following today’s approval from MOFCOM, all pre-conditional regulatory approvals for the combination have been received and we now move to the next phase. I am pleased that we have continued to deliver a strong operating and safety performance throughout the offer period which is a credit to our teams across the business. The proposed combination has strong industrial logic, particularly in deep water production and LNG, and will accelerate the delivery of value to our shareholders.”
The deal has already been approved by authorities Australia, Brazil and the European Union.
Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden previously said the £55billion deal would be a springboard to profits.
Commenting on today’s clearance, he said: “We’re grateful to MOFCOM for its thorough and professional review of the recommended combination, and I am delighted we now have all the pre-conditional approvals needed to move to the next important phase.
“This is a strategic deal that will make Shell a more profitable and resilient company in a world where oil and gas prices could remain lower for some time. We will now seek approval from both sets of shareholders as we move towards deal completion in early 2016.”
A BG spokesperson added: “The proposed combination will require support from both BG Group and Shell shareholders and BG Group shareholders should now await further communications from their board.”
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