Mitsubishi Corporation has agreed to purchase shale gas assets in the United States for $7.53 billion, marking its largest acquisition to date. The move underlines Mitsubishi’s aim to boost its natural gas business and its strategy to capitalize on rising energy demand driven by data centers, manufacturing activity, and LNG exports.
The agreement will see Mitsubishi obtain significant natural gas holdings near the U.S. Gulf Coast, a region key to energy exports and home to numerous developing facilities. The assets being acquired included $5.2 billion in equity from Aethon Energy Management’s assets in Texas and Louisiana and the assumption of $2.33 billion in debt.
This purchase follows a recent $1.5 billion investment by Japanese energy firm JERA in the Haynesville Shale basin along the Louisiana-Texas border. The deal is part of Tokyo’s ongoing commitment to increasing investment in the United States. As for Mitsubishi’s deal, it remains unclear whether the acquisition will count toward Japan’s overall $550 billion investment pledge.
With interests in LNG projects across the globe—including Malaysia, Oman, Australia, Russia, the United States, and Canada—Mitsubishi delivers an annual equity LNG output of 15 million metric tons. The company stated in a Tokyo Stock Exchange filing that this deal will reinforce its earnings from the natural gas and LNG sectors.
Mitsubishi also reported that the acquisition will also advance its objective of building a comprehensive value chain in the U.S., covering upstream gas extraction, electricity generation, data center and chemicals development, and related services.
Despite a significant investment, the market reacted to the news negatively. As of 3:01 P.M. (GMT+7), the shares of Mitsubishi fell by 2.01% to $4,055 per share.
