Woodside to sell oil and gas business to BHP
- Woodside Petroleum announced on Tuesday that it will sell its petroleum assets to BHP Group in an all-stock deal as the world's biggest listed miner posted its best annual profit in nearly a decade.
BHP is under increasing pressure to sell fossil fuels and has already sold some coal assets while looking to sell more.
The full share issue associated with the transaction will allow Woodside to acquire 52% of existing shareholders and 48% of BHP shareholders.
According to the industry, the companies expect annual savings more than $400 million a year.
BHP's underlying profit attributable for the year ended June rose from $9.06 billion last year to $17.01 billion missing a consensus of $17.46 billion from 17 analysts compiled by Vuma.
The company said it would pay a final dividend of $2 per share, higher than the 55 cents that was paid last year.