Would BP be able to fight off any takeover offer?
The very fact that the market capitalisation of BP has fallen by in excess of £100 billion since the Gulf of Mexico disaster began would obviously at some stage make the company a potential takeover target. However, in a startling development to the situation it is believed that the US government has unofficially given oil giant Exxon the "go-ahead" to at least consider an offer of BP. This would create a company with a value in excess of £260 billion and a giant in the oil industry. So would BP be able to fight off any takeover offer?
While it is not even certain that an offer will come the way of BP, many experts believe that if one offer was to materialise we would possibly see a number of competing bids. However, it is known that BP is currently in talks to sell assets which could total £8 billion and there are rumours the company is also talking to Middle East investors about a potential issue of new shares. Whether or not BP is currently strong enough to fight off a "fair value" takeover approach remains to be seen but the company is potentially a sitting duck at the moment.
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