Orlen Group is finalizing the purchase of 17 fuel stations in southern Germany, in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the company said. The completion of the transaction will expand the company’s network to 604 facilities and complete its geographic reach – to date, Orlen Group stations have been located primarily in the western and northern states.
The transaction in Germany will be financed with funds raised from the sale of part of the Lotos stations, the divestment of which was one of the European Commission’s remedial conditions. The purchase is expected to be finalized by the end of February, after the conglomerate obtains approval from the German antitrust authority, among other things, the statement said.
“In our strategy, we explicitly announced the expansion of our overseas station network, and we have been consistently meeting these objectives. We are now also investing the funds we raised from the sale of part of the Lotos stations in Germany. We are accelerating the development of the network and supplementing its availability with southern states, where we have not had a strong presence so far,” said PKN Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek.
The finalization of the transaction means that Orlen Group will strengthen its position as the 6th largest fuel station operator in Germany. The 17 self-service stations will be acquired from the Austrian OMV network. The stations are located in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. 12 of the 17 sites are located in the discount areas of the Aldi Süd chain. The station format allows customers to purchase high-quality fuel and pay for it directly at the dispenser. The process of rebranding the stations will be carried out within three months of their acquisition.
There are currently a total of 587 stations in Germany in the Orlen Group network. The establishment of Orlen’s station network in Germany is the result of a decision by the German antitrust authority, which in 2003 authorized BP’s acquisition of the shares of station operator Aral, on the condition that BP sells 4% of BP/Aral’s total station share in the German retail market. The 495 stations, located mainly in the northern and western states, were then acquired by the Orlen Group. Over the past 10 years, the corporation has invested more than €300 million in Germany, primarily in the modernization and development of its fuel station network.
According to the strategy, the corporation will have 3,500 fuel stations in at least six Central European markets by 2030. The share of foreign stations in the total sales network is to increase from 37% to 45%.
Source: Orlen Group and ISBnews
