May not mean anything but interesting all the same.From The...

May not mean anything but interesting all the same.

From The HeraldSun.

WOODSIDE Petroleum has been dealt a blow by major shareholder Royal Dutch Shell, which has sold down its stake in Australia’s biggest energy company by $3.3 billion.

In a statement today, Shell said it had sold 78.34 million shares in Woodside, representing 29.18 per cent of its total stake and 10 per cent of the company, at a price of $42.23 per share.

Shell has committed to retain its remaining shares for a minimum of one year, with exceptions that include a sale to a strategic third party of an interest greater than 3 per cent, provided the purchaser agrees to be bound by the same escrow restrictions.

�With Shell�s recent portfolio progress in Australia, our world-wide push to simplify the company and to improve our capital efficiency, we will increasingly focus our investment in Australia through direct interests in assets and joint ventures, rather than indirect stakes,� Shell CEO Peter Voser said.