Daily Telegraph: Market report: “speculation that French rival Total SA may be mulling a bid for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant” (ShellNews.net)

By Yvette Essen (Filed: 17/08/2004)

Shell rose 8.75 to 399.25p on speculation that French rival Total SA may be mulling a bid for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant.

Meanwhile, a Total spokesman repeated comments by chief financial officer Robert Castaigne earlier this month that with the current high oil prices it was "not good timing" for large-scale purchases.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/08/17/cxmktrep17.xml