Reuters: SOCAR nears acquisition of Italian oil refiner Italiana Petroli

The founding family of Italian oil refiner Italiana Petroli (IP) is close to selling the company to Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR), a deal that would give the group control of one of Italy’s largest petrol station networks, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The agreement could be signed as early as Monday, September 15, two sources told Reuters, provided there are no last-minute delays, Caliber.Az reports.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though sources previously indicated that the Brachetti-Peretti family was seeking an enterprise value of around €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) for IP, which holds approximately €500 million in cash.

SOCAR and Italiana Petroli did not respond to requests for comment. 

SOCAR is being advised by Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo IMI CIB, while UniCredit is advising IP’s owners.

IP operates a refining capacity of roughly 200,000 barrels per day and a network of more than 4,500 fuel stations. It also owns key storage and transport infrastructure across Italy, including facilities for jet fuel. Last year, IP reported an adjusted core profit of nearly €500 million.

If completed, the deal would follow last year’s sale of Italy’s Saras refiner by the Moratti family to global commodity trader Vitol. 

By Sabina Mammadli