HONG KONG - ExxonMobil (IW 500/1) said Tuesday it had agreed to sell its stake in a Hong Kong power-generation firm, in a deal worth more than $3 billion.
The largest U.S. oil company reported an 18% decline in third quarter profits last month due to weaker refining earnings.
"ExxonMobil Energy Limited has reached an agreement to divest its 60% shareholding in Castle Peak Power Company Limited (CAPCO) to CLP Power and China Southern Power Grid (CSG)," a spokeswoman said.
In the last year, ExxonMobil shares have underperformed the broader market amid criticism that it is spending too much on costly projects while production has sagged.
"Our company routinely assesses our global portfolio and then looks for opportunity for growth, restructuring or divestment so as to meet our global strategic objective," the ExxonMobil spokeswoman said.
Hong Kong's CLP Holdings and China's state-run CSG confirmed they had acquired the 60% stake on Tuesday.
A statement from CLP said the two firms would "each acquire half of the 60% interest" in the company, which has three power stations in Hong Kong.
CLP said it would pay HK$12 billion (US$1.55 billion) for its share of the stake while CSG did not disclose its figures.
The acquisition will raise CLP's stake in the company to 70%, while the remaining 30% will be held by CSG.
CLP also announced that it had agreed to buy ExxonMobil's 51% stake in Hong Kong Pumped Storage Development Company for a total of HK$2 billion.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
