Activist Elliott Wants to End 15 Years of BP Losing Out to Shell

For many decades, BP Plc and Shell Plc were the closest of rivals — equivalent in size, with matching clout in energy markets and similar global reach.

Today, Shell is worth twice as much, while years of underperformance at BP have now caught the attention of Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management. The activist investor has built a nearly 5% stake and is demanding drastic cost cuts and divestments to strengthen its future as a standalone company.

Read: Elliott Pushes Big Cost Cuts at BP to Preserve Its Independence

In fact, what Elliott really wants is for BP to become more ...