Woodside Energy

The big Australian is going after the London listed diversified miner Anglo American in what would be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, corporate deal in its 139 year history.

An $80 billion Woodside-Santos merger made little sense from the beginning — including from an energy transition perspective, with the companies pursuing very different net zero strategies.

Beyond pursuing a potential $80 billion corporate merger, Woodside and Santos could well also compare notes on defending claims of greenwashing.

Woodside and Santos are poles apart on their ESG strategies. Would an $80 billion merger be beneficial from a sustainability lens?

After a slow twelve months, it has taken just 48 hours for three multi-billion dollar prospects to land on the table and reignite interest in Australian markets.

With a dearth of obvious expansion opportunities, the mooted $80 billion tie-up will help deliver growth and scale, but arguably not much beyond. It could, however, help Santos attract interest from other suitors.