It took Total’s chief executive and a small group of advisers just days to line up the French energy major’s biggest acquisition in almost two decades when it agreed to buy the African assets of U.S. firm Anadarko. Patrick Pouyanne pounced after Occidental Corp trumped Chevron’s $33 billion bid for Anadarko in April with an offer that includes raising financing by selling some of Anadarko’s operations worth up to $15 billion. By keeping those in the know to a minimum, the French CEO was able to stay flexible in negotiations, take a swift decision and ensure there were no leaks until the binding deal worth $8.8 billion was announced on Sunday, a Total source […]