French gas grid operator GRTgaz signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding with Engie and Société d’Infrastructures Gazières to buy the LNG terminal operator Elengy.
For the shareholders of GRTgaz and Elengy, this planned acquisition responds to both European gas infrastructure challenges and the market player needs, according to Engie’s statement.
French LNG player Engie, that owns the majority of GRTgaz shares, added that the market is currently subject to infrastructure consolidation where very large players are integrating several gas chain businesses, in particular, LNG terminals and gas transmission networks.
The companies plan to pursue negotiations and consult the employee representative bodies. The planned acquisition will be submitted for clearance to the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) as well as the governing bodies of the companies involved.
The transaction will not affect the shareholding in GRTgaz in which Engie holds a 75 percent stake and SIG holds the remaining 25 percent.
Elengy is Europe’s second largest LNG terminal operator with three terminals, and a regasification capacity of 21.25 billion cubic meters per annum of natural gas.