TAVIA GRANT
Globe and Mail Update
After a five-month battle, Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Monday declared victory in its plan to buy the rest of Shell Canada and take the company private.
The offer was extended to last Friday, and an additional 75.7 million Shell Canada shares were tendered, at $45 a share.
Royal Dutch, one of the world's largest energy firms, now owns about 98.8 per cent of the Canadian company. The offer, which had been seen by some shareholders as too low, has now expired.
Shell Canada's current management keeps responsibility for the company's operations and projects, Royal Dutch said in a release.
The U.K. company made a $40-a-share bid for Shell Canada in October. That offer was boosted to $45 in January.
Royal Dutch wanted the rest of Shell Canada so that the Anglo-Dutch company could increase its oil sands holdings.