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Total SA has agreed to acquire a 37.4% stake in India’s Adani Gas Ltd. as the French oil-and-gas major looks to expand its footprint in the energy-hungry South Asian nation.
India’s natural-gas market has substantial growth potential as New Delhi aims to diversify its energy mix and develop the domestic use of gas in cities and as fuel for vehicles as part of a broader goal to cut emissions, Total FP, +2.47% TOT, +2.31% said. India has set a target of increasing the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030 from 7% at present.
“The natural gas market in India will have a strong growth and is an attractive outlet for the world’s second-largest LNG player that Total has become,” Total’s chief executive and chairman, Patrick Pouyanne, said in a statement Monday.
Shares in Adani 542066, +12.50% opened 18% higher at INR162.40 following news of the deal.
The French company said it will initially launch a tender offer to public shareholders to acquire up to 25.2% in Adani. It will buy the remainder from the Adani family. After the deal, the family and Total will each hold 37.4% stakes, while 25.2% will be with the public, Adani Gas said in a separate statement filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday.
The companies didn’t disclose details on the value to the deal. Based on Adani Gas’s current market capitalization, a 37.4% stake would cost about 56.77 billion Indian rupees ($800.4 million).
