TotalEnergies Spinoff Notes

April 28, 2023 Update

Total decided to sell its oil sands business instead of spin it off:

 

February 13, 2023 Update

When asked about special dividends on a 2/8/23 conference call, TTE management replied with the following:

“Well first, there will be a special dividend, which is a special dividend in kind with the spin-off of Canada. So — and it’s not 0. It’s — when I see the figures, it might represent not far from $1 per share. So don’t underestimate that value. So it will come for shareholders.”

TTE trades at $62 per share and a market cap of $153BN. $1 per share of value is interesting because it suggests $2.5BN of equity value. Very likely there will be indiscriminate selling pressure.

 

October 12, 2022 Update

TotalEnergies (TTE) announced on September 28th that it is planning to spin-off its oil sands operations. Management announced that the segment and assets do not align with the company’s energy transition goals.

The spin-off would include TTE’s 24.6% stake in Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills oil sands mining project, as well as its 50% stake in ConocoPhillips’ Surmont thermal project, midstream, and trading-related activities. In 2022, these assets are expected to generate $1.5 billion in cash flow.

The spin-off proposal requires shareholder approval and will likely take place in 2023. The spin-off will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Total plans to maintain a temporary minority stake to help with the transition.