Repsol sells 25% of its 'Upstream' business to the American fund EIG for 4,800 million

Repsol promotes its transformation into a multi-energy company, reinforces its leadership in the energy transition and advances the fulfillment of the key objectives of the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan by incorporating EIG, an American institutional investor specialized in the energy and infrastructure sectors globally.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
07 September 2022 Wednesday 07:39
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Repsol sells 25% of its 'Upstream' business to the American fund EIG for 4,800 million

Repsol promotes its transformation into a multi-energy company, reinforces its leadership in the energy transition and advances the fulfillment of the key objectives of the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan by incorporating EIG, an American institutional investor specialized in the energy and infrastructure sectors globally.

Specifically, EIG will acquire 25% of Repsol's 'Upstream' business for a value of 4,800 million dollars, as announced by the company on Wednesday.

After deducting the net debt allocated to EIG's stake ($1.4 billion), the value of EIG's investment would reach $3.4 billion. This amount from EIG to Repsol will include: an initial payment of 70% at the closing of the transaction and the remaining 30% to be paid in three equal annual installments over the next three years.

This transaction, approved by Repsol's board of directors, values ​​the company's Exploration and Production business at 19,000 million dollars, above the consensus of analysts.

EIG and Repsol contemplate the possibility of an IPO of a minority stake in the United States of this business as of 2026, provided that favorable market conditions exist.

Repsol, as the majority shareholder, will maintain control of the 'Upstream' business, which it will continue to consolidate within the group's accounts, and will appoint four of the eight members of the board of directors, including the president of the new company, who will have casting vote, while EIG will nominate two and the other two will be independent.

The company created will maintain the existing staff and management team, as well as the current business plan, focused on strengthening, targeting and decarbonising its asset portfolio.

EIG will contribute its experience in previous investments in the global energy sector to maximize value creation and enhance the strengths of Repsol's 'Upstream' unit.

The new entity will adopt the ESG objectives and policies that Repsol has for its Exploration and Production area, reinforcing them with the EIG standards. "Our ambition is to lead the energy transition. This pioneering agreement reinforces the strategic sense of the 'Upstream' unit within the group and, at the same time, drives the transformation of the company and its multi-energy profile to achieve net zero emissions by 2050" , stated the CEO of Repsol, Josu Jon Imaz.

"The energy transition determines all the decisions we make and we are delighted to partner with a global leader such as Repsol in this attractive opportunity to lead change in our industry," said the chairman and CEO of EIG, R. Blair Thomas.

The closing of the transaction, subject to the usual regulatory approvals, is expected within the next six months, once the new corporate structure of the 'Upstream' business has been established.

In accordance with the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, Repsol has made progress in transforming the company and has evolved its organization with the deployment of four business areas ('Upstream', Industrial, Customer and Low Carbon Generation), supported by units corporate and more efficient services to favor the increase in results and the crystallization of value.

The company has underlined that this agreement makes it possible to advance towards the goal of achieving zero net emissions, through a project that accelerates the transformation and reinforces the multi-energy profile, while reducing debt and maintaining a strong cash flow to finance growth. ambitious and attractive shareholder remuneration.