The state energy companies of South Africa and Mozambique have exercised their rights to buy the 30% stake in the ROMPCO natural gas pipeline that Sasol is selling, the companies announced Sunday.
Petrochemical company Sasol said last month that it was selling its stake in the ROMPCO gas pipeline linking Mozambique and South Africa to a consortium of investors that includes the Reatile Group for an initial $293.3 billion.
However, that deal was subject to pre-emption rights on shares held by existing shareholders, namely iGAS, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Central Energy Fund and by Companhia Moçambicana de Gasoduto (CMG), a subsidiary of ENH – Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbons Company.
Thus, IGAS and CMG will now increase their stakes in ROMPCO to 40% each, increasing the current stake of 25%. Sasol, which is trying to give up assets to pay off debt, will reduce its stake from 50% to 20%.
The transaction will be fully financed from past and future dividends generated by the 865-kilometer pipeline, the Central Energy Fund and the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH), a joint statement said.
“Having both governments as majority shareholders in the cross-border pipeline is strategic as it is the only source of gas for the South African market,” ENH CEO Stephen Pale said in a statement published on the Reuters news agency.
