Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, confirmed during a meeting with investors in Paris that the group is working on a dual listing in New York, in addition to Paris. He stressed that this project is “unanimously supported” by the board of directors. This statement aims to allay fears expressed in France, particularly in the political sphere, where some feared that the company’s main listing would be moved to New York. Patrick Pouyanné wanted to clarify that “Paris will remain the stock market for the introduction of TotalEnergies shares”.
The project initially caused controversy in April, when Patrick Pouyanné suggested in an interview with Bloomberg that TotalEnergies was considering moving its main listing to New York. The statement sparked a strong reaction in France, with President Emmanuel Macron asking for clarification. The manager then mentioned a “translation error”.
An already effective presence in New York
The manager specified that TotalEnergies is already listed in New York, but in the form of ADRs (American Depositary Receipts), a specific mechanism for foreign companies. The objective is to convert these ADRs into ordinary shares to simplify management for American shareholders and increase the liquidity of the stock. “We just want to transform the ADRs into ordinary shares,” he explained, while emphasizing that this would not constitute a “revolution”, since these ADRs only represent 9% of the company’s capital.
Patrick Pouyanné also put an end to rumors of divisions within the board of directors. “The board of directors therefore unanimously supports these plans to transform ADRs into ordinary shares,” he said. However, he specified that technical aspects remain to be resolved, particularly in connection with the European and American authorities. “It is therefore a work in progress (…), in conjunction with the European and American authorities,” he declared.