Press Release: Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell

On 02 September 2015, the European Commission approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell. The Commission concluded that the takeover would not lead to Shell benefiting from market power in a number of markets, namely oil and gas exploration, the liquefaction of gas and the wholesale supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Moreover, Shell would be unable to shut out its competitors from access to its liquefaction facilities that supply LNG into the European Economic Area (EEA) or from gas transportation and processing infrastructure in the North Sea. The transaction had been notified to the Commission on 29 July 2015.