summary
The deal includes $5.2 billion in equity and $2.33 billion in debt.It will be Mitsubishi Motors’ largest acquisition.Mitsubishi aims to strengthen its gas value chain.Eason Energy could buy back up to 25% interest.
(Reuters) – Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp said on Friday it would acquire U.S. shale production and infrastructure assets Aison Energy Management for $7.53 billion, aiming to strengthen its gas supply chain. This will be the largest transaction ever.
If the deal goes through, the company would gain a large natural gas operation adjacent to the U.S. Gulf Coast and an energy export facility being developed there.
CEO Katsuya Nakanishi told a news conference that the assets contain some of the largest reserves in the southern U.S. gas producing region and offer “high productivity and competitiveness.”
Mr. Nakanishi said, “As the energy transition is expected to be prolonged, we aim to capture the growth in gas demand in the United States while ensuring a stable energy supply to consumers overseas, including Japan.”
The transaction includes $5.2 billion for the acquisition of Aison stock and $2.33 billion in net interest-bearing debt. Ayton is likely to repurchase up to 25% of its assets within six months of closing, expected in the April-June period.
Japanese investment in US energy
The deal is the latest example of Japanese companies investing in the U.S. energy sector as Tokyo positions gas as a key transition fuel beyond 2050 and the country braces for a surge in power demand from data centers driven by an artificial intelligence boom.
Mitsubishi is a leading global LNG player across the entire value chain, from upstream production to trading, marketing and logistics. The company owns interests in LNG projects in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Oman, Russia and the United States, and has an annual equity LNG production capacity of 15 million tons.
Aison, one of the largest privately held gas producers in the United States, is focused on the Haynesville Shale formation in Louisiana and East Texas, with upstream production of 2.1 billion cubic feet per day, equivalent to 15 million tons of LNG per year.
Mitsubishi Motors said production from the asset is expected to peak at 2.6 Bcf per day in fiscal 2028, with a net profit contribution of 70 billion to 80 billion yen ($443 million to $506 million) in fiscal 2027.
The Japanese company plans to use cash, borrowings and other methods to pay for the acquisition, a company spokesperson said.
In October, Japan’s largest power generation company, JERA, announced it would buy U.S. natural gas assets for $1.5 billion, and Nippon Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. announced in December that it would buy Verdad Resources Intermediate Holdings, which owns U.S. tight oil and gas assets, for $1.3 billion.
Mitsubishi Corp. shares extended their decline on the news, settling 2% lower than the broader benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which fell 0.3%.
Reuters reported in June that Mitsubishi Corporation was in talks to buy the assets of Eason Energy Management.
(1 dollar = 158.1400 yen)
Reported by: Yuka Obayashi Edited by: Changran Kim, Tom Hogue, Barbara Lewis
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