| The world of Big Oil looks set for another round of mega-mergers and acquisitions after Shell set the ball rolling this week with its $70bn agreement to take over BG. All eyes are on ExxonMobil. The world’s largest shareholder-funded energy giant has plenty of cash – and opportunities, now that the drop in oil prices has produced an army of willing sellers.
At one of the company’s rare meetings with Wall Street analysts recently, Exxon executives boasted it had a serious call from investment bankers acting on behalf of distressed oil companies looking for a saviour. Although Brent blend has only recently dived to less than $60 per barrel, from the highs of $115 seen last June, many energy companies are over-extended after a three-year period when they grew fat and over-ambitious, feasting on very high oil prices...............................................Full Article: Source
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