One $70 billion deal, just three advisers for Shell and BG

By Freya Berry and Sinead Cruise

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell's $70billion takeover of British energy firm BG stands outbecause only two investment banks and a boutique firm wereselected for the advisory work.

This is in sharp contrast to many so-called mega-deals,which have historically involved at least two and sometimesthree or four financial advisers to each party.

Shell's cash and share offer, recommended by the board of BGon Wednesday, represents a coup for Bank of America MerrillLynch, as Shell's sole adviser. It is also a significantpayday for Goldman Sachs and advisory boutique RobeyWarshaw LLP, the firms hired by BG.

To keep talks between Shell and BG confidential, the list ofadvisers was intentionally kept short, one source familiar withthe deal said, even though this meant Bank of America MerrillLynch underwriting Shell's borrowing alone.

This compares with Vodafone's $130 billion sale ofits 45 percent stake in Verizon's U.S. wireless business in 2013which earned big fees for Goldman Sachs, Bank of America MerrillLynch, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, UBS, Paul Taubman'sPJT Partners and Guggenheim Partners.

And nine banks shared the spoils when Glencore tookover Xstrata in 2012, while seven are handling the merger ofHolcim and Lafarge and related asset sales.

None of the parties involved have provided details on theirlikely earnings from the BG deal but the figures will affectleague tables for fees and deals activity in the first quarterof next year, if not sooner, given the small number of adviserson the big-money ticket.

Merrill Lynch was already the top bank by fees and marketshare for the energy and power sector in the first quarter of2015, with a 7.9 percent share, according to Thomson Reutersdata. The bank came fourth for global mergers and acquisitionsin terms of fees.

Goldman was at number one, after boosting its fee intake by40 percent against the same period last year.

Investment banking fees for the energy and power sectorreached almost $2.4 billion, the third most lucrative sectorglobally for the quarter.

Robey Warshaw's role deals another blow to majorbulge-bracket banks, coming just weeks after independentinvestment banks Lazard and Centerview Partners LLC sawoff bigger rivals to advise H. J. Heinz and Kraft Foods on a $46 billion merger.

The company began operations just last year under its twostar dealmaker founders -- Simon Robey and his namesake SimonWarshaw.

Dealmakers across the City are now expected to try to flushout possible counter bidders to defend their positions in theleague tables, which help companies select which banks andadvisers they want to spearhead takeovers and share offerings.

"BG has long been mooted as a potential target for a numberof predators. It is not inconceivable that this deal flushes outa counter offer for BG," one of BG's 15 largest investors toldReuters. (Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia and Sophie Sassard;Editing by Keith Weir)