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European stocks rise as energy shares rally on Shell-BG deal

8 Apr 2015 | Author: Business | No comments yet »

European Stocks Lifted by Shell Deal.

European stocks inched to a 15-year high Wednesday, buoyed by a sharp rise in oil and gas shares as investors bet Royal Dutch Shell’s deal to buy BG Group will spark a wave of mergers in the industry.LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. stocks rose Wednesday, with shares of BG Group PLC soaring after news of a planned takeover of the energy producer by industry heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

BG confirmed it was in advanced talks with Shell following a report from The Wall Street Journal. “In our view, the key attractions for Shell are BG’s deepwater assets in Brazil and its [liquefied natural gas] portfolio,” said RBC Capital Markets in a note, adding that BG’s LNG portfolio combined with Shell’s would represent about 16% of the global LNG market. Meanwhile, shares of Sky PLC SKY, +2.61% picked up 3.6% following a Reuters report that French media conglomerate Vivendi SA VIV, +0.85% is considering a possible purchase of the pay-TV firm.