Shell may have moved to the United States

The executive leadership of the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell came to consider in 2021 the possibility of transferring the headquarters and the listing of the company to the United States, according to knowledgeable sources revealed to the newspaper Financial Times.

In this sense, the newspaper points out that Wael Sawan, the group’s new CEO, was among the senior Shell executives who then discussed the advantages of a hypothetical move to the other side of the Atlantic.

However, Shell sources told the newspaper that “during formal discussions about the relocation of headquarters, Wael did not advocate moving to the United States.” Finally, the executive team of the oil company decided to leave the Netherlands but consolidate its base and its listing in the City and on the London Stock Exchange.

Despite the fact that the option to move the company to the United States was rejected, the newspaper notes that the new CEO of the Anglo-Dutch oil company remains concerned about the huge valuation gap between Shell and its US-listed rivals such as ExxonMobil and Chevron.

In this sense, Exxon and Chevron’s shares are valued at about six times their cash flow, compared to about three times for Shell. Likewise, according to sources consulted by the newspaper, Sawan delegated a team of executives to review parts of Shell’s business with a view to attracting US investors.

Shell is the largest company in the United Kingdom, with a market capitalization of 176,000 million pounds and revenues of about 316,000 million, so its departure to the United States would have dealt a serious blow to the United Kingdom and the status of London as an international financial center.

Source: dpa

(Reference image source: Jethro Carullo, Unsplash)

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