TotalEnergies share falls into the red: Couche-Tard buys European gas stations from TotalEnergies

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In Belgium and Luxembourg, a joint venture will be established with Alimentation Couche-Tard to operate the 619 Total gas stations there, the group announced on Thursday in Paris. The four gas station networks are to remain under the Total brand for at least five years as long as they are supplied with fuel by TotalEnergies.

The withdrawal from the petrol station business is related to the climate neutrality sought by the EU and the planned end of sales of new combustion cars from 2035. This is prompting TotalEnergies to make decisions about its fuel station network in Europe, which has suffered revenue losses due to declining fuel sales. One of the reasons for this is that electric cars are more likely to be charged at home or in the company than at the charging stations of the gas stations, the group explained.

With this in mind, petrol stations should in the future be transformed into service and lounging places with shops, restaurants and services and not just fuel sales points. That’s why TotalEnergies turned to Couche-Tard, known for its extensive experience operating convenience stores alongside gas stations.

Through the partnership, TotalEnergies aims to maximize non-fuel sales at service stations in Belgium and Luxembourg, where the company is the market leader. In Germany and the Netherlands – TotalEnergies is not the market leader in the two countries – the French group wants to concentrate instead on the development of new forms of mobility such as electric and hydrogen drives in order to achieve its net zero goals.

“The filling stations in the four countries will continue to operate under the TotalEnergies brand as long as the fuel is supplied by the company, but for at least five years,” says TotalEnergies.

Couche-Tard intends to use available cash, existing credit facilities and a new term loan to fund the acquisition.

Couche-Tard CEO Brian Hannasch described the acquisition as “a strong geographic addition to our existing European network, enabling us to grow together in some of Europe’s strongest economies.”

According to the announcement, Couche-Tard expects the transaction to close before the end of the year, but said “there is no certainty that the offer will be accepted and the transaction will be completed”.

The TotalEnergies share on the EURONEXT temporarily fell by 2.36 percent to EUR 53.00 after having increased slightly before.

PARIS (Dow Jones/dpa-AFX)

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