Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk said Monday it had agreed to sell its oil and gas division, Maersk Oil, to French oil major Total SA for $7.45 billion.

Under the deal, Total will transfer 97.5 million shares, or about 3.8 per cent of its equity, to Maersk, and will also take on short term debt of $2.5 billion, the company said.

Maersk said it plans to return a “material portion of the value of the received Total SA shares” to shareholders in 2018 and 2019 in the form of extraordinary dividend, share buyback or distribution of shares in Total. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

Maersk Oil has majority of its assets in the North Sea.