Orlen will buy 266 Turmöl service stations in Austria

On Tuesday, Orlen signed an agreement with the Austrian company Doppler for the sale of 266 petrol stations operating in Austria under the Turmöl brand to the Polish concern. The company estimates that in this way it will take over 10 percent. retail market and 14 percent. wholesaler in Austria.

Closing of the purchase transaction from the Doppler Group 100 percent. shares of the station operator – Doppler Energie is planned after receiving, among others, approvals of antimonopoly offices at the turn of 2023 and 2024. The President of Orlen, Daniel Obajtek, estimated that the consent of the European Commission should take place within “several weeks”. As he emphasized, Orlen does not have any assets in Austria, so there should be no problem from the point of view of antitrust law.

The transaction amount was not disclosed. The terms and conditions of the agreement, including the terms of payment and settlement of the price, do not differ from those commonly used in this type of agreement.

Turmöl is the third largest petrol station chain operating in Austria. Obajtek explained that Orlen is trying to acquire more than 10% of shares in acquisitions. of a given market, which allows you to optimize logistics costs. With lower shares, logistics is much more expensive, he emphasized. At the same time, the acquired company has approx. 14 percent. the Austrian fuel wholesale market. The proximity of Orlen’s Czech refineries offers potential for large synergies,” Obajtek noted.

According to Orlen, nearly half of the purchased stations are self-service facilities that allow customers to purchase fuel and pay for it directly at the dispenser. At over 130 stations you can do shopping, and at about 80 – take advantage of the gastronomic offer. 25 stations are equipped with photovoltaic panels. In addition, the company to be taken over by Orlen also provides a network of chargers for electric cars under the Turmstrom brand with 35 charging points in 29 locations. As part of the transaction, Austrocard will be acquired, offering fuel cards for private and business customers, accepted in over 500 locations in Austria.

Obajtek pointed out that Orlen invests “very large money” in retail sales, but there will be no immediate rebranding of stations in Austria, because it is more important to raise their standard to the premium level earlier.

The President of Orlen pointed out that, like any large company, the concern always analyzes further potential acquisitions and investments.

Obajtek also informed that new analyzes indicate that the synergies resulting from over 160 integration and transformation projects carried out by Orlen are estimated at over PLN 20 billion in all areas of the Group’s operations over the next 10 years. He reminded that previously, synergies of PLN 10 billion over 10 years were assumed. “This is the justification for all acquisitions,” said Orlen’s president, announcing further acquisitions.

He added that in the last few months, the positive effects of synergies related to the acquisition of Lotos and PGNiG reached PLN 400 million. This applies to oil and gas trade, logistics and supply chain management, consolidation of the activities of the accounting and HR areas, service companies, e.g. service and design, as well as the expansion of the scope of activities of shared service centers.

wkr/ mk/