French oil and gas company Total has signed an agreement for a proposed acquisition of a 74.33% stake in energy utility firm Direct Energie.
The agreement was signed with Direct Energie’s controlling shareholders to acquire their share capital at a price of €42 a share and an ex-dividend of €0.35 a share, representing an aggregate acquisition price of approximately €1.4bn.
Direct Energie chairman and CEO Xavier Caïtucoli said: “We welcome this transaction with pride and enthusiasm and we are convinced that combining with Total will be to the benefit of our customers.
“The Direct Energie teams will be at the heart of the strategy of one of the greatest French companies. I have no doubt that their hard work, creativity and talents will allow the new entity to expand its ambitions.”
Upon completion of the acquisition, Total intends to file a mandatory tender offer on the securities of Direct Energie with the French Financial Market Authority (Autorité des marchés financiers).
Total chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “Through this transaction, Total is actively pursuing its development in electricity and gas generation and distribution in France and Belgium.
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By GlobalData“This friendly takeover is part of the Group’s strategy to expand along the entire gas-electricity value chain and to develop low-carbon energies, in line with our ambition to become the responsible energy major.
“We are delighted to welcome the Direct Energie teams into Total, who will contribute their skills in the field of electricity and who will be at the heart of the group’s growth ambition in this field.”
Total is also pursuing to further strengthen its position in the power generation market, with Direct Energie’s power generation activities.
Direct Energie currently has an installed capacity of 1.35GW, which includes 800MW of gas-fired power and 550MW of renewable electricity.
Over the next five years, Total aims to have at least 10GW of installed capacity, either in the form of gas-fired power plants or renewable electricity capacities.