French energy major Total has completed the acquisition of a 73.04% stake in gas and renewable power provider Direct Energie. The deal is worth in the region of €1.4 billion (US$1.65 billion).
The closing of the deal, which was lodged in April, has also triggered a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in Direct at the same price of €42 per share. That values Direct at just over €1.9 billion.
Direct Energie has an installed base of 800MW in gas-fired power plants and 550MW of renewable energy.
“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 Belgian markets where we are growing fast,” said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of Total. The firm has had a majority stake in module manufacturer Sunpower since 2011.
Oil majors from Total and BP to Statoil and DONG have recently invested in the power sector, particularly renewables.
This story previously claimed that Direct Energie was the parent company of French developer Neoen.