Total To Buy Power Storage Firm

France’s Total has made a €950mn friendly takeover offer for Paris-based Saft, a world leader in advanced battery technologies. The move fits in with Total’s strategy to expand in electricity trading and energy storage.

“The combination of Saft and Total will enable Saft to become the Group’s spearhead in electricity storage”, said Patrick Pouyanne, Total’s Chairman and CEO.

At €36.50 per share represents a 38.3% premium to Saft’s closing share price of €26.40 on May 6, 2016. Saft’s supervisory board, which unanimously approved the proposed deal, has appointed Finexsi as an independent expert.

On April 20 Total announced that it was recreating a Gas, Renewables and Power segment -- under a revamped corporate organisation to take effect from September 1 -- which it said would “will spearhead Total’s ambitions in the electricity value chain.”

Saft is a leading manufacturer of nickel batteries and primary lithium batteries for the industrial through to military electronics markets. Its space and defence batteries, with its Li-ion technologies, are also deployed in the energy storage, transportation and telecommunication network markets. In 2014, 38% of Saft's sales revenues came from providing stationary back-up power systems - an example of which is its 'Bardzour' back-up system for the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.

Mark Smedley