BG Group chief executive Helge Lund revealed he has “mixed emotions” over Royal Dutch Shell’s $70bn (£46bn) takeover bid, which came only two months after he took the top job.
Speaking at BG’s annual general meeting in Reading, the former Statoil boss said there is still much to do before the transaction can be completed but that Shell’s bid, at a 50pc premium to BG’s share price on April 7, maximises BG’s value while removing potential risks.
“This is a strong deal for our shareholders,” he said.
“That said, you will understand that, from a leadership perspective, I do have slightly mixed emotions as I was looking forward to taking BG forward and a takeover was certainly not in my mind when I joined the company.”
Mr Lund took office on February 9 with a mandate to turn BG around after a string of profit warnings and delays on major projects.
Shell’s offer, first raised in a mid-March phone call between Shell CEO Ben van Beurden and BG chairman Andrew Gould, was announced on April 7.
Meanwhile, BG investors have rebelled against Mr Lund’s £25m pay deal, which was branded “outrageous” by one shareholder at the AGM.
However, completion of the Shell takeover will trigger payouts for Mr Lund that could see his first year’s pay top £32m, Reuters claimed.
Nearly 18pc of votes were cast against the company’s remuneration report and 13.5pc of votes opposed the re-election of Sir John Hood as chairman of the remuneration committee.
