Emmanuel Macron called on TotalEnergies on Wednesday to “clarify” its position concerning a possible main listing of the French group on the New York Stock Exchange, the head of state saying “not to believe that it is moving away from France”, in an interview published by L’Express.
At the end of April, the boss of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, said in an interview with Bloomberg that he was considering a primary listing of the company on the New York Stock Exchange. The group is currently listed in Paris, but already has securities listed in London and New York on a secondary basis. “I think this is a legitimate question,” judged the director of the flagship of the CAC 40, emphasizing that there was “a debate” there. “It’s not about emotion. It’s a business question,” he considered, while ensuring that the head office of this flagship of the CAC 40 would remain in Paris.
The President of the Republic had already declared himself last week “not at all delighted” at the idea of a listing of TotalEnergies outside France. “I think that Total never had to complain about being French when it went into its export markets. I am convinced that they will mark this attachment and clarify what is rumor, and nothing else,” declared Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday to L’Express. “I can’t believe he’s moving away from France,” he adds.
“Anyone who has experienced a listing in the United States knows that this operation is ten times more complicated than in France or Europe. When we look at the markets in which the group operates, and we know the risks of litigation when we are listed in the United States, I think we should look twice,” explains Emmanuel Macron.
“Geopolitically, then, being a French company is an incomparable advantage compared to an American company which will be caught up in the confrontation with China. In Africa, the Near East or the Middle East, being French has many advantages… France supports those who believe in France, not others,” he notes. Nearly half of TotalEnergies’ shareholders are now made up of North American institutional shareholders (pension funds, asset managers, insurers, etc.).