Much Ado About Something

摘要

AS MARK TWAIN ONCE SAID, HISTORY DOESN'T REPEAT ITSELF BUT IT DOES rhyme. And while the 19th-century writer didn't have any particular insights into corporate finance in the 21st century, it's fair to say that the $70-billion deal between Shell and BG Group that was announced in April sounded awfully familiar to some oil and gas industry executives. That's because it bore striking similarities to the round of mega-mergers that happened during the last supply-driven downturn in oil prices, one that saw Exxon pair up with Mobil, Chevron gobble up Texaco and BP buy both Amoco and Arco. As Oppenheimer's Fadel Gheit told BNN on the morning after the BG-Shell tieup was announced, "This first salvo is probably going to be followed by several other ones that are as big or bigger. The other companies are all in the hunt - Chevron, Shell and Exxon ... It's a buyers' market, and will continue to be so until and unless oil prices move to a higher level."