Rosneft, Trafigura-UCP complete Essar Oil acquisition for US$12.9bn
Russia’s biggest oil producer, Rosneft, has successfully entered one of the world’s fastest growing markets, India, with the acquisition of Essar Oil Limited (EOL).
Rosneft, through its subsidiary Petrol Complex Pte. Ltd, has finalized the acquisition of 49.13% of shares of EOL from Essar Energy Holdings Limited.
One of the assets purchased is a stake in the Vadinar refinery, a high-tech refinery located in the state of Gujarat and offers potential synergies with existing Rosneft –owned assets.
“The availability of all the necessary infrastructure (a deep-water port, storage terminals and own power station are part of the transaction), as well as Rosneft’s shares in upstream projects in Venezuela and working offtake contracts with PDVSA will provide Rosneft with significant operational synergies and help improve the refinery’s economics. A further synergy will be derived from cross-supplies of oil products to Asia Pacific markets,” explained a company release.
The acquisition will also give Rosneft access to Essar Oil’s network of more than 3,500 petrol stations spread across India.
Moreover, an investment consortium comprised of international commodity trading firm Trafigura and private investment group UCP Investment Group (UCP), through Kesani Enterprises Company Limited, has also announced the closure of their acquisition of a separate 49.13% share of EOL.
"We are confident that together with all the new shareholders - recognised leaders in their industries, we will oversee the growth potential of Essar Oil to increase the long-term value of the company," said Ilya Sherbovich, Managing Partner of UCP Investment Group.
The remaining 1.74% stake continues to be held by retail shareholders.
