BG Group plc has confirmed that the recommended cash and share offer for the company to be made by Royal Dutch Shell has received unconditional merger clearance from the European Commission.
The approval is the second of five regulatory clearances to be satisfied as part of the pre-conditions to the combination. It follows the clearance obtained from the Brazilian competition authority, CADE, in July 2015. Other pre-conditional approvals are required from Australia (anti-trust and foreign investment) and China (anti-trust), and regulatory filings have been submitted for each of these approvals.
The proposed transaction will also require support from both BG Group and Shell shareholders.
Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly