Jim Cramer Predicts 'M&A Wave' Even As Shell Denies BP Merger Deal: TV Host Says This Is The 'Most Bullish Thing' That Can Happen In This Market

Renowned television host Jim Cramer is cheering a potential mega merger between energy giants Shell PLC SHEL and BP PLC BP, seeing it as a catalyst for a broader surge in deal-making activity.

What Happened: On Wednesday, Cramer posted on X, forecasting an imminent wave of mergers and acquisitions, especially in the energy sector, calling it an “M&A wave,” kick-started by Shell and BP.

Cramer’s optimism comes amid market chatter triggered by a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that Shell was actively considering acquiring BP, creating one of the largest energy corporations in the world, which he believes would be the “most bullish thing that can happen in this market.”

The host of CNBC’s Mad Money further believes that there's minimal antitrust scrutiny or political pushback in the energy sector right now, especially relative to big tech, which could make large-scale mergers easier to execute.

Shell, however, has since explicitly denied any talks of a merger being underway, with a spokesperson telling Reuters on Wednesday that “no talks are taking place” and that this was all just “further market speculation.”

The spokesperson went on to say, “As we have said many times before, we are sharply focused on capturing the value in Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline and simplification.”

BP, meanwhile, has remained tight-lipped, with the company’s representatives repeatedly declining to comment on the speculation.

Neither BP nor Shell immediately responded to Benzinga’s requests for a comment on this matter. The story will be updated as soon as we receive a response.

Why It Matters: Talks surrounding BP’s acquisition by Shell have been ongoing for quite some time, with Bloomberg having reported on it over a month ago.

If the $80 billion deal goes through, it is expected to create a European oil and gas behemoth that could rival American giants, the likes of Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM and Chevron Corp. CVX.

Price Action: Shares of BP were up 1.64% on Wednesday, trading at $30.32, and up 0.59% after hours, while Shell was down 1.00% during the day, before inching up 0.15% after hours, following the company’s denial of any such merger.

Shell has a fairly average score on Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, but has a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long term. How does it compare with BP? Click here to find out, along with deeper insights.

Photo courtesy: katz / Shutterstock.com

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