Total to buy battery maker Saft for $1bn to boost renewables venture

French oil and gas corporation Total announced on Monday it has agreed to acquire Saft Groupe SA in its bid to further develop its renewable energy business.

Total proposed to pay €36.50 ($41.62) per share on all of Saft’s issued and outstanding shares, which amount to €950 million ($1.1 billion).

The Supervisory Board of the battery manufacturer has unanimously accepted the offer as it is in line with the interests of the company, its shareholders and its employees, according to Total and Saft’s joint press release.

Saft manufactures and designs batteries for industrial infrastructure and processes, civil and military electronics, energy storage, and transportation and telecommunication companies.

“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,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.

“It will notably allow us to complement our portfolio with electricity storage solutions, a key component of the future growth of renewable energy,” added Poyanné.