Think Gas-AG&P formal merger set for Mar. 20
By the end of this month (March 2024), Think Gas and AG&P Pratham are expected to complete a merger into a single large CGD company with a new management structure.
Promoted by US-based I-Squared Capital, Osaka Gas and Sumitomo, Think Gas and AG&P have been set a March 20 (2024) deadline to complete the merger, reveals an AG&P source. "We expect an announcement after March 20," he says.
"This was the plan all along; our promoters are the same companies, and it makes sense to merge." He adds that after the merger, the three promoters will have joint control over both companies.
"Nothing will change on the employees front," he stresses. "But the management of AG&P and Think Gas might change."
He speculates that Think Gas management might look after northern India, where it has a more substantial presence, while AG&P management will look after southern India, where it is well established. On January 11 (2024), I-Squared, Osaka Gas and Sumitomo applied to the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, for merger approval, which came through in the first week of February 2024.
Our source explains that I-Squared is Miami-based but also operates in Europe. He tells us AG&P and Think Gas’s equity structure is unavailable but believes I-Squared holds 45-50% in both, while Singapore-based AG&P holds 5% in AG&P Pratham.
Osaka Gas and Sumitomo are believed to hold the rest. On August 23 (2021), AG&P announced that I-Squared invested $200m as the first tranche of a $300m investment in AG&P, taking a controlling stake.
On December 20 (2021), AG&P announced Osaka Gas and JOIN (Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development) had invested up to $120m in AG&P. However, I-Squared decided to sell 50% of AG&P and Think Gas to Osaka Gas and Sumitomo towards the end of 2023.
Our source reveals the merged entity will keep the old company names.