BP-Shell Megadeal Will Create European Rival to Exxon Mobil

If Shell were to acquire BP, it would be among the largest deals in European history, creating for the first time a European oil major that could challenge industry leaders Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

- BLOOMBERG

The circumstances for such a takeover might not be auspicious for BP—its shares have lost almost a third of their value in the last year and investors are unconvinced by the company's turnaround plan—but the deal would be transformative for Shell.

Since Bloomberg reported that Shell has been studying the merits of an acquisition—something both companies have so far declined to comment on—analysts have been gaming out both the upsides and downsides. Here are some of their conclusions: