BG Group shareholders give Shell takeover the nod

The second set of shareholder approvals in the mammoth Shell-BG Group merger came through on Thursday, with BG Group shareholders giving it the go-ahead.

Royal Dutch Shell's £35bn takeover offer is set to create the world's largest liquefied natural gas trader.

A Court Meeting and General Meeting were held early in the day, with shareholders voting whether to approve the merger, and whether to pass a special resolution to implement the scheme at the General Meeting.

At the Court Meeting, 99.53% of scheme shares voted to approve the scheme, while just 0.47% of scheme shares voted against it. On a shareholder basis, 87.32% of scheme shareholders approved the scheme.

The voting results of the General Meeting - which were only available on a share basis - showed 99.55% of shares were voted in favour of passing the special resolution, while 0.45% voted against.

Holders of shares in Royal Dutch Shell voted to approve the takeover from their side on Wednesday, with 83% voting in favour of the deal.

The takeover - which had been criticised by analysts and shareholders as no longer making financial sense given the low oil price environment - was now expected to be completed on 15 February, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain customary conditions.

At 1445 GMT, shares in BG Group were up 2.28% to 1053p. Royal Dutch Shell's A shares were up 3.45% to 1513p, while its B shares were up 3.63% to 1515p.