AKIPRESS.COM - Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed a £47bn takeover of gas group BG in one of the biggest deals seen in the oil and gas sector in the last 20 years, reports The Guardian.

BG confirmed on Wednesday that it was offering a cash and shares deal worth £13.67 a share - a 50% premium on BG’s market value on Tuesday night, when news of the deal first leaked.

Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Shell, said: “Bold, strategic moves shape our industry. BG and Shell are a great fit. This transaction fits with our strategy and our read on the industry landscape around us.”

Shell chairman, Jorma Ollila, said the deal was an important one for Shell: “The result will be a more competitive, stronger company for both sets of shareholders in today’s volatile oil price world.”

The transaction will be the biggest this year and the fourth largest oil and gas deal globally since 1996.

Shell said the deal would create pretax cost savings of about $2.5bn a year. It will add some 25% to the company’s proved oil and gas reserves and 20% to production, as well as strengthening its position in new oil and gas projects, particularly in Australia LNG and Brazil deep water. BG and Shell both have huge interests in the LNG market – liquefied natural gas that can be shipped around the world in tankers.