Irish conglomerate DCC plc, the parent company of Certas Energy, has completed the purchase of Butagaz SAS, a liquefied petroleum gas business in France, from Shell for €464m (£338m).

When the deal was announced in May DCC said the transaction would be its largest ever acquisition and was a major step forward in the continuing expansion of its LPG business. The French LPG market is the second largest in Western Europe and approximately twice the size of the market in Britain.

Butagaz has a market share of 25% and is the leading LPG brand in France. The acquisition increases the scale of DCC’s LPG business from approximately 700,000 tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes.

Shell said the transaction was consistent with its strategy to concentrate its downstream footprint on a smaller number of assets and markets where it can be most competitive, and is part of an on-going exit from the LPG business globally.