Sempra close to full acquisition of Mexico’s IEnova

US-based Sempra Energy announced August 12 that it had launched a tender offer to buy the remaining shares of Mexico's IENova it doesn't already own.

The offer for IEnova, formally Infraestructura Energetica Nova, is part of an effort that began in December for Sempra to streamline its non-utility components under one self-funding platform dubbed Sempra Infrastructure Partners. That effort is meant to combine Sempra’s LNG segment with that of IEnova.

Sempra put forward an offer to buy the remaining 3.6% of the shares in IEnova that it does not already own. It estimated the total share purchase price at about $205mn. After the latest offer expired in May, Sempra held a 96.4% ownership interest in IEnova.

In November, Sempra’s LNG division took a final investment decision on the Energia Costa Azul LNG plant in northwestern Mexico. The terminal will be the first to ship gas from western states such as Texas and New Mexico from the Pacific coast, reducing delivery times to Asian markets and eliminating the need to use the Panama Canal.