Tax savings worth hundreds of millions for North Sea oil and gas companies are a key driver of deals like Repsol and Neo Energy, alongside delivering the benefits of more scale and diversity and opportunities for cost consolidation.
Aberdeen-based EnQuest (LON: ENQ) has acquired Harbour Energy's (LON: HBR) Vietnam business as part of a $84 million deal to "grow its international operating footprint".
Following Wood’s (LON: WG) latest trading update, shareholders will need evidence of improvement before another takeover bid is rejected, said RBC Brewin Dolphin.
A rumoured tie-up between Repsol and NEO Energy would be a good fit for the Spanish firm which has one of the biggest decommissioning liabilities in the North Sea, an analyst has said.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) had been looking into a potential takeover bid for BP (LON: BP), however, the firm has decided against the move.
While the M&A market has faced its challenges, it has largely held up during the last 12 months, with many corporate finance advisers reporting, perhaps unexpectedly so, that they have experienced a strong deals flow throughout the year.
The potential Ithaca Energy (LON: ITH) combination with Eni’s UK assets stands to bring the firm's reserves above that of Harbour Energy, according to analysis.
Shell (LON: SHEL) will eliminate at least 20% of jobs in its deals team as the company continues to restructure its business units in an effort to reduce costs, according to people with knowledge of the matter.