Could Exxon buy BP?

FROM CHARLEY BLAINE AT MSN.COM MONEY

Have you been noticing that everybody’s favorite oil stock, BP (BP), is, well, rising?

It has been for the last two days, and the cause is takeover speculation. Not real takeover speculation, as in there’s real evidence that investment bankers and lawyers are scurrying around drawing up offer sheets and the like.

But rather speculation from one analyst, Fred Lucas of JP Morgan Cazenove in London. Lucas thinks BP could be a takeover candidate and the only company with the money and chutzpah to take on the troubled oil giant is Exxon Mobil (XOM).

So, at 3:45 p.m. ET, BP’s shares (technically American depositary units) were up 4.1% to $28.80. The shares are up about 5.5% from Friday’s close of $27.02. In London today, the shares hit as high as 330.85 pence before finishing at 318.52 pence — a gain of 5.2%.

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