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TotalEnergies’ chief executive said the French oil giant could move its listing from Paris to New York as US investors became more positive about the company and supported its fossil fuel strategy.
Patrick Pouyanné, Total’s boss for the last decade, has previously complained behind closed doors to investors that the company’s European listing had hurt its valuation relative to U.S. rivals, echoing similar complaints from Shell.
On Friday, he said publicly that the 100-year-old French group, founded by the state and the largest energy company in Paris’ blue-chip Cac 40 index, was seriously considering a move. He had previously dismissed the idea as politically difficult, even if Total was no longer state-owned.
“There was a discussion with the board about the issue of a US stock exchange listing. We all agree that we need to look at this seriously,” Pouyanné told analysts. “We have more and more US shareholders. The idea of a clear listing in New York is obviously a step that the board has asked me to take.” He added that he would report to the board by September.
He also clarified that the company’s headquarters will remain in Paris.
US investors now make up almost half of Total’s shareholder base, up from a third ten years ago. “It is clear that in the energy and oil and gas space, US shareholders are buying the shares and European shareholders are not buying the shares in the same way,” Pouyanné said.
At Total, his strategy is to pursue profitable oil projects while focusing more on gas as the company’s main fossil fuel. Proceeds from these two deals were also used to invest in renewable energy.
However, the group has faced criticism from some shareholders who argued that it is not moving fast enough on the transition to clean energy. The company also came under political pressure to support its customers by cutting fuel prices after energy costs skyrocketed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Pouyanné’s public discussion of an IPO came after the French government floated the idea of taxing profits from share buybacks.
Total, which on Friday posted a slightly better-than-expected 22 percent decline in first-quarter adjusted net profit to $5.1 billion due to falling gasoline prices, said it would implement a $2 billion buyback program in the second quarter start.
The board also supported Pouyanné remaining as joint chairman and CEO after a shareholder coalition called for a non-binding vote on splitting the roles at the company’s shareholder meeting in May. The board rejected the request, Total said.
In London, Shell expressed similar dissatisfaction with valuations and considered moving its listing to New York in 2021. At that time, the Anglo-Dutch group decided instead to consolidate its listing in London.