Sian Crampsie
French energy group Total has made a move to take full ownership of Direct Energie following its successful bid for a majority stake in the company.
Total says that it has completed the acquisition of a 73.04 per cent share in Direct Energie, a leading French alternative energy supplier. The move has resulted Total filing a mandatory tender offer for the remaining 26.96 per cent of Direct Energie shares.
The offer will be made at the same price as its initial offer, at €42 per share.
“The Board of Directors unanimously recommends to Direct Energie’s shareholders to tender their shares. This operation is indeed extremely positive for Direct Energie, its teams and clients,” said Xavier Caïtucoli, chairman and CEO of Direct Énergie.
Direct Energie provides electricity and gas to more than 2.6 million residential and non-residential customers in France and Belgium. It has 1.35 GW of installed capacity, of which 800 MW is gas-fired and 550 MW renewable, including onshore wind, solar, hydro and biogas.
Its project portfolio includes a 400 MW gas-fired power plant and a 2 GW pipeline of renewable electricity projects in France.
The purchase of Direct Energie will bring Total’s customer portfolio in the energy supply market to 4 million sites in France and Belgium. The company is aiming to reach over 6 million customers in France and more than 1 million in Belgium by 2022.
“This operation allows us to accelerate our integration downstream along the full gas and power value chain and to reach critical mass in the French and Belgium markets where we are growing fast,” declared Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of Total.
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