Woodside shareholders endorse BHP merger proposal in landslide vote

Australian energy giant Woodside has revealed that its shareholders have approved its plan for the merger of BHP’s petroleum business portfolio with Woodside.

Back in August 2021, a merger commitment deed was announced between Woodside and Australia’s BHP Group, enabling the former to acquire the entire share capital of BHP Petroleum in exchange for new Woodside shares. The two players followed this up by signing a binding share sale agreement (SSA) in November 2021.

Since then, Woodside also revealed a new executive team in February 2022, expected to lead the new company after the merger with BHP’s oil and gas portfolio was complete, allowing the firm to take full advantage of energy transition opportunities to foster further growth.

In an update on Thursday, Woodside informed that its shareholders had voted to approve the proposed merger with the petroleum business of BHP Group at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). According to Woodside, 98.66 per cent of the votes cast at the AGM were in favour of this merger.

In light of this, the company confirms that all precedent conditions necessary to implement this merger, which require a positive action or event in order to be fulfilled, have now been satisfied or waived.

Therefore, Woodside expects the completion of this merger to take place on 1 June 2022 and new Woodside shares to be issued to or for the benefit of BHP shareholders to begin trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 2 June 2022.

Furthermore, the trading of Woodside American Depositary Shares on the New York Stock Exchange is expected to start on 2 June 2022 while the trading of Woodside shares on the Main Market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange is expected to occur on 6 June 2022.

The two companies believe that this merger will create a global top 10 independent energy company by production and the largest energy company listed on the ASX.

Upon completion of the merger, the combined company is expected to have a high margin oil portfolio, long life LNG assets, and financial resilience to help supply the energy needed for global growth and development over the energy transition.