BP PLC
10 February 2003
press release
February 10, 2003
BP SELLS GERMAN REFINERY STAKE AND SERVICE STATIONS IN GERMANY, HUNGARY AND
SLOVAKIA TO AUSTRIAN OMV
BP announced today that it has agreed to sell a 45 per cent stake in the
Bayernoil refinery, an 18 per cent stake in the Trans Alpine Pipeline (TAL), 247
retail stations in Germany, 55 stations in Hungary and 11 in Slovakia to OMV
Aktiengesellschaft, one of Austria's largest publicly traded industrial
companies and a leading oil and gas company in central and eastern Europe.
The sale of the German assets enables BP to fully comply with the conditions
imposed by the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) when it approved BP's
acquisition of Veba Oil in December 2001. The service stations in Hungary and
Slovakia which are included in the sale comprise the entire Aral network in
these countries.
OMV will pay €377 million in cash and debt assumption for the assets, subject
to post closing adjustments. The parties expect to complete the deal - which is
conditional on regulatory approvals and the non-exercise of certain pre-emption
rights - during the second quarter of 2003.
'We are pleased to finalise the further divestments required to fully meet the
Federal Cartel Office's conditions,' says Wilhelm Bonse-Geuking, CEO of Deutsche
BP. 'We have made good progress with the integration of the Veba/Aral and BP
businesses in Germany and hope to complete the process during the second quarter
of 2003.'
OMV are being advised by Goldman Sachs and BP by Deutsche Bank.
Notes to Editors:
• OMV Aktiengesellschaft: With group sales of € 7.74 billion in 2001,
5,659 employees and a market capitalisation of € 2.5 billion, OMV is one of
Austria's largest publicly traded industrial companies. As the leading oil and
gas company in central and eastern Europe, the OMV group is active in refining
and marketing in 12 different countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Internationally, it is engaged in exploration and production in 13 countries.
The group also operates integrated chemical production facilities. In addition,
OMV holds a 25 per cent stake in Borealis A/S, one of the world's leading
polyolefin producers. It also holds about 10 per cent of the Hungarian oil and
gas company MOL, as well as 25.1 per cent of the Rompetrol Group NV, the largest
privately held oil company in Romania.
• Bayernoil, which consists of three interconnected refineries in
Bavaria, has a total refining capacity of around 260,000 barrels a day (12
million tonnes per annum). Following the sale, BP will continue to have a
direct interest of 10 per cent in the refinery and an indirect interest through
Ruhr Oil, which holds 25 per cent of Bayernoil's equity and is a 50:50 joint
venture with Petroleos de Venezuela.
• When approving BP's acquisition of Veba Oil AG, the German Federal
Cartel Office required BP to sell four per cent of the combined BP/Aral retail
market share, based on year 2000 volumes, and 45 per cent of BP's holding in the
Bayernoil refinery. The German retail assets including in the sale to OMV
equate to around 1.6 per cent of the combined BP/Aral retail market share whilst
the earlier sale of service stations to PKN Orlen, announced in December 2002,
equated to 2.4 per cent.
Further information:
Ulrich Winkler, Deutsche BP, tel: +49 (0)234 315 3200
Wendy Silcock, BP press office London, tel: +44 (0)207 496 4358
- ENDS -
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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