(African Business Magazine)-French oil and gas major TotalEnergies has announced that it will take complete control of joint venture Total Eren as it looks to up its presence in the renewable energy market.
Total will increase its stake from 30% to 100% by buying out the other shareholders after what it called a “successful strategic alliance” of five years.
Total Eren has 150 MWp of installed capacity in Africa in the form of photovoltaic solar power plants currently in operation in Egypt (2×63 MWp), Burkina Faso (15 MWp) and Uganda (10 MWp).
The company is actively developing opportunities in eight other African countries, including South Africa and Tanzania. Worldwide, it has 3.5 GW of renewable capacity in operation and a solar, wind, hydroelectric and storage projects pipeline of over 10 GW in 30 countries, of which 1.2 GW are in construction or late-stage development.
Under the deal, Total Eren teams will be fully integrated within TotalEnergies’ Renewables business unit. Total Eren has around 500 staff based in over 20 countries.
As well as its renewables portfolio, Total Eren has launched green hydrogen projects in regions including North Africa, Latin America, and Australia. These green hydrogen activities will now be pursued through a new partnership in an entity named TEH2, 80% owned by TotalEnergies and 20% owned by EREN Group.
Total Eren was founded in 2012 by Pâris Mouratoglou and David Corchia. The deal follows a strategic agreement signed between TotalEnergies and Total Eren in 2017, which granted TotalEnergies the right to acquire all of Total Eren (formerly EREN RE) after a five-year period. The transaction gives Total Eren an enterprise value of €3.8bn ($4.2bn).
The deal will see the exit of investors Bpifrance, Tikehau Capital, Peugeot Invest and NextWorld, who first invested 2015 to help the company accelerate its development pace, and again in 2017 and 2019.
‘New chapter of development’ for TotalEnergies
The deal ramps up TotalEnergie’s bid to achieve its renewable ambitions. At the end of March 2023, TotalEnergies’ gross installed renewable electricity generation capacity was 18 GW. The firm aims to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources and storage by 2025, and then 100 GW by 2030.
“Our partnership with Total Eren has been very successful, as shown by the size and quality of the renewables portfolio. With the acquisition and integration of Total Eren, we are now opening a new chapter of our development as the expertise of its team and its complementary geographical footprint will strengthen our renewable activities and our ability to build a profitable integrated power player,” Patrick Pouyanné, chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies, said in a statement.
