- The recent history of oil price collapses shows that M&A activity typically jumps when prices fall, so WSJ says it may be time for another wave of acquisitions to sweep through the energy sector as crude oil prices have been cut by more than a third since June.
- BP jumped by nearly 5% Tuesday on chatter that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) was going to make a bid - the rumor was not new, but it took on a new credibility in the new low price oil environment.
- The WSJ report says several bankers believe BG Group (OTCQX:BRGXF, OTCQX:BRGYY) could be a target for a big company looking to get bigger.
- Oppenheimer analyst Fadel Gheit points out that big deals may be harder now than in the past because there are simply fewer large companies left.