Total confirms sale of 48.83% stake in Spain's Cepsa for €3.7bn

02 August 2011 10:22  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Total has confirmed the sale of its 48.83% stake in Spanish oil and petrochemicals producer Cepsa to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) for €3.7bn ($5.3bn), the France-based oil and chemicals major said on Tuesday.

Total agreed a takeover bid for its entire interest in Cepsa at a price of €28 per share in February this year. The company said it had received €3.7bn for its shares on 29 July, and added that the deal would help reduce its exposure to European refining.

The group has cut its European refining capacity by nearly 25%, or 550,000 bbl/day, since early 2007.

“Total remains active in Spain, expanding its lubricant, specialty product and chemical operations,” it added.

Cepsa has a refining capacity of 528,000 bbl/day and a hydrocarbon production capacity of around 55,000 bbl/day.

The European Commission cleared a move by IPIC to take majority control of Cepsa in July.

IPIC, controlled by the government of the United Arab Emirates, acquired a 9.5% stake in Cepsa in 1998, which it raised to 47.1% in 2009.

IPIC’s portfolio companies also include Canada’s NOVA Chemicals, along with stakes in Austria’s oil and gas major OMV and in Austria-based petrochemicals major Borealis.

($1 = €0.70)

By: Franco Capaldo
+44 (0)20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly