India, June 25 -- Shell on Wednesday denied reports suggesting it was in early-stage discussions to acquire rival BP, calling the claims "market speculation."
The response came after a Wall Street Journal article, citing unnamed sources, said Shell had explored a potential takeover of BP sending BP shares soaring over 10 percent to a session high of $32.94 before retreating to a gain of about 2 percent.
A Shell spokesperson firmly rejected the report, stating, "No talks are taking place. As we've said repeatedly, we remain sharply focused on unlocking value at Shell through continued emphasis on performance, discipline, and simplification."
BP, currently valued at approximately $80 billion, would represent one of the oil industry's large...