Perhaps it’s because I’m not close to the situation, but I just can’t fathom why anyone would want to buy BP—thinking from a brand fall-out perspective. This rumoured move by Exxon Mobil has sent BP shares upwards last week—but I’ve got an inkling that possible purchases won’t do much for the purchasers.

This week, Apache Corp. declined to comment on a public report that it might buy $12 billion of BP PLC’s assets, which seems much the safer move. But Exxon Mobil also refused to say whether or not it would bid for BP. Analysts have said the timing isn’t the greatest, and it might be in the companies best interest to wait until the storm is officially over (notwithstanding the long-term affects of the spill). Agreed.

For the time being, for the sake of the companies brands, perhaps they should keep their pocketbooks closed—with all the buzz about BP’s clean-up efforts, while oil caps to stop the flow have busted, been replaced, and now may not potentially work—things could get much worse before they get better.

(Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Financial Times, Telegraph, MSN, you can see the full piece at http://theweek.com/article/index/204609/should-exxon-buy-bp)

“Should Exxon Mobil buy fellow oil-spill villain BP, now that BP’s stock is so low? BP’s shares rose Wednesday on that rumor, started by JP Morgan oil analyst Fred Lucas, who figures that BP is about 62 percent undervalued right now, and thus ripe for a pickoff. The other company that could handle such a big merger is Shell, Lucas says, but only Exxon knows “how to price potential clean up costs and associated civil claims.” Still, would Exxon really want the hassle of cleaning up another sullied brand? Would BP let it try?”