Total To Acquire Saft

French oil and gas giant Total Energie will be acquiring battery manufacturer Saft for a total of €950 million. The two companies announced on May 9, 2016 that Total had made a 'friendly tender offer' on all issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Saft with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).

The offer is priced at €36.50 per share, excluding dividend. This represents 38.3% premium above Saft's closing share price of €26.40 on May 6, 2016. Total stated in its press statement that the offer values Saft nine times its 2015 reported EBITDA.

Total's move comes as the French company moves in the direction of building up its renewable capacity. Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, explained, "The acquisition of Saft is part of Total's ambition to accelerate its development in the fields of renewable energy and electricity, initiated in 2011 with the acquisition of SunPower." He added, "It will notably allow us to complement our portfolio with electricity storage solutions, a key component of the future growth of renewable energy."

The Supervisory Board of Saft has approved the 'friendly takeover' unanimously, however, the offer by Total is pending approval from AMF, which will give its decision after evaluating its compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Ghislain Lescuyer, Saft's CEO, said, "I am convinced that Total will provide Saft with the required expertise and resources needed for its future development, particularly in terms of technological and commercial capabilities. This transaction will benefit Saft's clients and employees, who will be joining a major player in the energy space." Saft is known as a manufacturer of high-quality lithium-ion batteries.

On April 19, 2016, Total had announced the creation of a gas, renewable and power segment to bring together its existing gas and new energy divisions. It aims to be one of the top three solar power players globally in the next 20 years as well as expand in electricity trading and energy storage