By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Mar. 6�UGI Corp., Valley Forge, Pa., has agreed to acquire a 20% interest in Elf Antargaz, the French propane distribution business of TotalFinaElf SA, for $30 million.
UGI will join a consortium consisting of Paribas Affaires Industrielles (PAI), a private equity fund manager affiliated with BNP Paribas SA, which will own 70% of Antargaz, and Medit Mediterranea GPL, an Italian propane company, which will own 10%. The consortium anticipates deal closing in late March.
Lon R. Greenberg, UGI chairman and CEO, said, the investment would be accretive to earnings in the first full year of ownership.
TotalFinaElf, is selling Elf Antargaz in response to European regulatory concerns that arose over Total's purchase of Elf Aquitaine. Antargaz markets 400 million gal/year of propane and butane. UGI markets 44 million gal/year of propane and butane in Europe.
UGI is a holding company with propane marketing, utility, and energy marketing subsidiaries. Through subsidiaries, UGI owns 55% of AmeriGas Partners LP, one of the nation's largest retail propane marketers.