Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Talks for Saudi Aramco to buy a stake in Repsol's renewables unit have stalled, affecting both companies' strategic plans in the energy sector.
By Andres Gonzalez and Pietro Lombardi
LONDON/MADRID (Reuters) -Talks for Saudi state oil giant Aramco to buy a minority stake in Spanish energy firm Repsol's renewables unit have hit an impasse, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The talks over the potential 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) investment have reached a dead end, and there are no current plans to resurrect them, one of the sources said.
The impasse comes as Aramco has been looking to sell some assets, improve efficiency and cut costs.
The talks started last year, when Reuters reported that Repsol had received an unsolicited approach for a minority stake in its renewable assets unit, which UBS analysts valued at around $6.6 billion in a February research note.
The Spanish company, whose shares have risen 24% in 2025, has been diversifying into renewables and low-carbon businesses, but these areas still represent a small fraction of its revenue.
Repsol and Aramco declined to comment.
Repsol is one of the few European oil companies still keen to invest in renewables, after most European oil majors have pulled back from plans to build out greener technologies because they have proved less profitable than drilling for oil and gas.
The company has kept investing in the energy transition while opening individual renewable projects within the unit to investors for minority stakes in portfolios of wind farms and solar plants to help fund its diversification.
In the past few months, Repsol added production from wind and solar parks in the United States, Chile and Spain. The company is moderating its renewable ambitions to prioritize returns, Repsol's CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, told analysts recently.
In 2022, Repsol sold a 25% stake in the renewables business to a unit of French bank Credit Agricole and Swiss asset manager Energy Infrastructure Partners for 905 million euros, a deal valuing the whole unit at 4.38 billion euros including debt.
($1 = 0.8485 euros)
(Reporting by Andres Gonzales in London and Pietro Lombardi in Madrid. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Mark Potter)
The talks for Saudi Aramco to buy a minority stake in Repsol's renewables unit have hit an impasse, with no current plans to resurrect them.
The potential investment was valued at 1 billion euros, approximately 1.2 billion dollars.
Repsol has been diversifying into renewables, with shares rising 24% in 2025, although renewables still represent a small fraction of its revenue.
In 2022, Repsol sold a 25% stake in its renewables business to a unit of Credit Agricole and Energy Infrastructure Partners for 905 million euros.
Most European oil majors have reduced their plans to build out greener technologies due to challenges in proving profitability in these areas.
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