Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. announced that the company has signed a definitive agreement to purchase shares in T-Power N.V., a natural gas fired power station in Belgium, from Siemens Project Ventures (SPV) and Tessenderlo Chemie (TC).
This is the first time for Tokyo Gas to participate in power generation business in Europe. The transaction is still subject to approval by the authorities, other shareholders rights, and third party consents.
Tokyo Gas will establish TG Europower as a subsidiary of Tokyo Gas International Holdings, a subsidiary for foreign investments, and will acquire a total of 26.66% interest (13.33% each from SPV and TC) in T-Power via TG Europower.
T-Power is a natural gas fired power station located in an industrial park in the northern part of Belgium. The plant has been operating since June 2011 under a tolling agreement with RWE group, a major power company headquartered in Germany, and is expected to generate stable income over the long term.
This investment is a part of Tokyo Gas’ mid-term strategy to spend a total of 150 billion yen for investments in upstream/overseas projects, as per “Tokyo Gas Group Medium-term Management Plan FY2009 – 2013”.
Furthermore, this is the third investment for Tokyo Gas to participate in overseas power generation projects following a couple of investments in Mexico. Tokyo Gas seeks to further enhance businesses related to the LNG value chain, including acquisitions of upstream interests.
[mappress]
Source: Tokyo Gas, September 21, 2011;