The BG Group, or British Gas group, was once the largest multinational gas company based in the UK, with headquarters in Reading, England. On April 8, 2015, Royal Dutch Shell announced an agreement to acquire the company in a friendly takeover, giving former BG shareholders 19% of the newly combined entity’s stock. The acquisition price for BG was $70 billion. After receiving regulatory approval and shareholder agreement, the sale was completed on February 15, 2016.
Prior to the acquisition, the BG Group was prominently listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent member of the renowned FTSE 100 Index. The company had significant global operations in over 25 countries across Asia, Africa, Australasia, North America, South America, and Europe. It produced approximately 680,000 equivalent barrels of oil per day and was the largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supplier to the United States. As of December 31, 2009, the company’s proven commercial reserves were 2.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
The company originally arose as the original British Gas Plc divested itself of Centrica to become BG Plc. The group then reorganized yet again in 1999 as the BG Group Plc. The company produced a wide variety of products, the most significant of which were natural gas, crude oil, and petrochemicals. Their revenues as of 2014 were $19.289 billion, their operating income was $6.155 billion, and their profit or turnover was $1.044 billion. As of 2015, they employed 5,200 individuals in more than 25 countries around the world.
Through the acquisition, Shell gained control of all BG Group’s natural resource assets and extensive LNG assets, significantly advancing Shell’s strategies in deep water natural gas and global LNG. The BG Group’s main business lines included the discovery and extraction of natural gas and crude oil, as well as the production, sales, and distribution of liquefied natural gas. It sold its products to wholesale customers such as retail electricity generating firms and gas suppliers globally.
The company owned some of its gas pipelines and had stakes in power generating projects around the world. It maintained a minority percentage of its primary businesses in its home market of Great Britain, with significant operations in 27 different nations. Key operations and markets included Australia, Brazil, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Norway, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The BG Group continued its multinational operations until February 15, 2016, when Shell/Royal Dutch Petroleum acquired the company’s entire publicly traded stock, and it ceased to exist as an independent company.
