So let's try to do the maths to establish some parameters.WPL...

So let's try to do the maths to establish some parameters.

WPL has approx 1B shares and at recent price about AUD$22 gives market cap of $22B.
BHP has approx 5B shares (I believe when all jurisdictions added- someone please check) and at recent price of AUD$54 has market cap of $270B.
Let"s assume:
1. BHP Oil&Gas valuation for the transaction is $20B (assumption - we need some good info here).
2. Woodside valuation for the transaction is $22B (current market cap).
Then it is almost a merger of equals: BHP shareholders end up owning 47.6% ($20B/$42B) of combined entity WoodB.
This would mean BHP shareholders would get nearly 1 Woodside share (actually 0.91) for every 5 BHP shares they currently have.
So for every BHP share a BHP shareholder currently has they would get 0.182 Woodside shares (ie $4 value at WoodB sp of $22), and expect BHP sp to fall by a similar amount.
Not a capital gains event!
Probably would take 6 months to get all the approvals (incl from Woodside shareholders, and I expect that this would be a key hurdle so it will need to look sweet fro them).
Would not need BHP shareholder vote as it is less than 10% of the business.

Those are the parameters as I look at them initially. Happy to get views on the above and any other issues/matters to consider.

As an investor I have "looked at" Woodside a few times over the last two decades and have not bought generally because it has looked a bit expensive. I note that I could have bought WPL for most of that time at $35 plus or minus 10%. (I note that smarter people than me could have traded in and out of WPL several times over that period and made very good money). So I am not anti-WPL (and indeed it is one of Australia's great business achievements). So getting a share of WoodB that reflects its current sp of $22 and fair value of BHP Oil&Gas assets could be a good investment, particularly as I assume there would be business synergies.