Oil giant Total values battery maker Saft at €950 million as pair agree takeover

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Saft has already delivered large-scale storage systems to projects in regions including Puerto Rico, where renewable energy installations must have energy storage integrated into their systems to be approved for grid connection. Image: Saft.
Oil and gas company Total has proposed to buy battery company Saft, which produces devices for the stationary storage industry as well as for transport and other applications.

Total said this morning that it had filed a friendly tender offer, following the signing of an agreement with Saft. In line with the “friendly” aspect of the takeover, the energy producer is willing to pay a premium on shares, offering to buy them at €36.50 (US$41.58), which is 38.3% above their valuation as of Friday and 41.9% above the weighted average share value over the past six months. Total valued Saft at €950 million (US$1,082 million), or nine times the battery maker’s 2015 reported EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation).

Saft’s product range includes the Intensium Max Lithium-Ion containerised storage solution, which it has deployed to numerous recent grid-connected and off-grid projects in regions including solar-plus-storage leaders Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The company also makes its own residential systems and recently deployed an innovative US project to store energy from regenerative braking on trains to then play into grid-balancing frequency regulation markets. Saft recently also opened a new facility in China and enjoyed a visit from US president Barack Obama at its manufacturing plant in Florida in February.

With over 100,000 employees, Total is in the top five oil and gas producers worldwide but also holds a majority stake in leading high-efficiency PV manufacturer SunPower.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

After already being met with unanimous approval by Saft’s board who recommended shareholders tender their shares, the proposed takeover remains subject to approval from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).

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, Patrick Pouyanné, Total’s chairman and 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,” Saft CEO Ghislain Lescuyer said.

“This transaction will benefit Saft’s clients and employees, who will be joining a major player in the energy space”.

Saft launched a residential system in the middle of last year. Image: Saft.

Read Next

September 12, 2025
Dutch BESS operator Return has acquired four ready-to-build (RTB) projects in Germany, while agrifood tech and renewables investor N2OFF has added BESS to a solar project it is developing there.
Premium
September 8, 2025
Energy-Storage.news Premium speaks with Ryan Hledik, Principal at the Brattle Group, and Lauren Nevitt, Senior Director of Public Policy at Sunrun, on the shaky future of California’s Demand Side Grid Support distributed storage programme.
September 3, 2025
During the morning of 30 August 2025, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) responded to a possible vegetation fire in the area of independent power producer (IPP) Arevon Energy’s California Flats solar-plus-storage project.
September 2, 2025
Energy-Storage.news speaks with Karina Hershberg, Associate Principal at engineering firm PAE Engineers, on integrating microgrids with sustainable building design.
September 2, 2025
The sale of the UK BESS-holding Harmony Energy Income Trust (HEIT) proved private capital’s greater patience and valuation around the asset class, the CEO of its former investment advisor told Energy-Storage.news.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter