Hungarian oil group MOL has resumed talks for buying the 58 filling station chain of Anglo-Dutch Shell Group in Romania, a necessary move now that its rival OMV has managed to acquire Petrom, market sources say. The deal, sources estimate at $70 million, could become final by the end of the year, as MOL has already started looking for consultants to assist it during negotiations.
The sale of the 58 stations will practically mean Shell, world's third leading oil group, is leaving the Romanian gas stations market for good. The process began last year, when a first "batch" of 23 filling stations were sold to MOL, in a transaction estimated to $20-$25 million.
This time, MOL may be buying Shell Romania SRL, the operator of the gas station network, directly, the quoted sources say.
When contacted by Ziarul Financiar for comment, Shell's and MOL's representatives did not dismiss the rumours about talks over the sale of the gas stations.
"MOL's strategy in Romania includes an increased presence of the company on this market. There are various development paths. We will expand our gas station network by building new stations, although buying already existing ones or smaller networks is also an option," says Karoly Robak, MOL Romania's chief executive.
"We are glad to see the other companies in the industry are interested in our company. We regard their interest as an acknowledgement of the value and soundness of our business," stated Angelica Iva, Shell Romania's spokesperson.
MOL has recently announced plans to use part of the money raised from the sale of its natural gas division in Hungary to expand its filling station network in Romania.
Rumours about MOL-Shell negotiations over the 58 stations first surfaced this April, but MOL's expansion in Romania was slowed down slightly by the management changes. Aliz Kosza, who had run MOL since 2000 left the company to become chief executive officer for Romania of Norwegian foods group Orkla on January 1, 2004.
After several months spent adjusting to the market, MOL Romania's new management resumed the strategy to develop by means of acquisitions, particularly because its archrival, Austrian OMV Group scored a decisive hit in Romania by taking over Petrom. The best way for MOL to quickly expand in Romania is to acquire Shell's gas station network.
As it has previously happened when the 23 stations became available last year, other players on the market might be targeting Shell Romania SRL's filling stations portfolio.
The fuel retail network in Romania currently comprises 1,800 - 2,100 stations, players on the market estimate.
Petrom has an over 600 station network; Lukoil and Rompetrol own more than 220 stations each, followed by MOL (74), Shell (58), OMV (over 51 prior to Petrom's takeover) and Agip (20 stations). The remaining stations are held by private operators.
Shell's decision to gradually withdraw from Romania was brought about by both the difficulties the group is having worldwide and by the weak performance of Shell Romania SRL through the years. The company logged $13.2 million losses in 1999, $2.8 million in 2000 and $3.8 million in 2001. On the other hand, Shell Romania SRL started to recover in 2002, when losses stood at merely $100,000 and could even post profit this year.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro
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