Royal Dutch Shell has raised its bid for the 22 per cent in Shell Canada it does not own to 8.7 billion Canadian dollars (£3.7 billion) after shareholders in the unit said the earlier offer was too low.
The world's second-largest Western oil company by market capitalisation said in a statement today it had increased its offer to $45 in cash for each Shell Canada share, from the $40 per share it proposed last October.
Shell said the bid had been accepted by Shell Canada's board and a special committee set up to appraise Shell's earlier bid.
The Anglo-Dutch oil major is buying out the Shell Canada minorities to bolster its flagging reserves base and address falling production.
High oil prices mean Shell is cash rich, but it has few exploration and development opportunities, especially after Russia pressured it to cede half its stake in the giant Sakhalin-2 project to state-controlled Gazprom last month.