Total’s acquisition of Poweo shakes up the Belgian energy market
The news broke this morning: oil giant Total (which had already turned heads by buying the Liège-based 100% green energy company Lampiris) has laid claim to Poweo, the Belgian subsidiary of the French energy supplier Direct Energie.
Total’s acquisition of Direct Energie: 1.4 billion euros for a 74% stake
A tidy sum: Total’s acquisition of 74.33% of the shares in the French alternative producer and supplier of gas and electricity is costing it 1.4 billion euros. The oil giant will then launch a mandatory public offer for the shares, listed on the Paris stock exchange, for €42 per share, valuing the whole company at some 1.9 billion euros (2.5 billion including Direct Energie’s debts). The administrative board, which unanimously approved the purchase, should recommend that the remaining shareholders sell their holdings (subject to confirmation that the public offer is fair).
Objective: establishing a position in the Belgian and French gas and electricity markets
Total had already attracted attention in 2016, when it acquired Lampiris, the Liège supplier of green electricity. The clash between the oil company’s values and the eco-friendly image of Lampiris caused an outcry.
Today, the acquisition of Direct Energie (along with its Belgian subsidiary Poweo) enables Total to consolidate its position in the domestic market, which it entered last year under the name “Total Spring” (in France). Its ultimate goal is to develop its position in the gas and electricity distribution sector in Belgium and France.
