Shell Ups Oil Offering with Pennzoil-Quaker State Purchase

Shell Oil, part of Royal Dutch/Shell Group, has agreed to buy automotive consumer products giant Pennzoil-Quaker State for $1.8 billion (£1.3bn; €2.1bn), plus a further $1.1bn in debt.

Declared Shell Oil Products US president/ceo Rob Routs: “The addition of Pennzoil and Quaker State, the number one and two brands in the key US passenger car motor oil segment, will ultimately more than replace our use of the Havoline brand [ceded to Texaco last year] and complement Shell's brand strength in diesel engine lubricants.”

Expected to close in the latter half of this year, the deal is subject to approval by PQS shareholders and regulators. The impact on the brands’ ad agencies – GSD&M, Austin (Pennzoil); Tucker Partnership, New York (Quaker State); J Walter Thompson, Houston and London (Shell) – is not yet clear.

Data sourced from: BrandWeek.com; AdAge.com; additional content by WARC staff