The US oil and gas company ExxonMobil has launched negotiations with the French unit of the Canadian energy group North Atlantic to divest its majority-owned French subsidiary Esso. According to Esso, the sale is expected be finalised in the last quarter of 2025, at a price of €149.19 per Esso share before distributions, or €32.83 euros after distributions.
ExxonMobil is currently the majority shareholder in Esso, with a 82.89% stake. Following the acquisition, North Atlantic would make a mandatory takeover bid for the remaining shares of Esso on the same financial terms as the initial offer.
The transaction would notably imply the sale of the 226 kb/d Port-Jérôme-Gravenchon refinery, located in Seine-Maritime (northwestern France). The refinery was Esso’s first refinery commissioned in France, as it started operations in 1933. In November 2024, ExxonMobil finalised the sale of its other French refinery, namely the the Fos-sur-Mer oil refinery located near Marseille, to Rhône Energies, a Swiss consortium of Trafigura and Entara. The 140 kb/d refinery was first commissioned in 1965 by Esso.