Olerex buys Lukoil petrol stations in Estonia
Estonian petroleum company Olerex will purchase the Estonian assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil.
Olerex will buy Lukoil's 37 service stations in Estonia.
“Our decision to sell the Estonian assets was taken as part of the effort to optimize Lukoil’s petroleum-product marketing business,” Vadim Vorobyov, Lukoil's Vice President, said.
According to the agreement, Lukoil trademark will continue to be used during a transition period of up to 12 months.
Olerex is the largest Estonian fuel company, fully based on the domestic capital, with 50 stations in their retail network. With the purchase of so many new stations, the acquisition is also a subject of obtaining approval from the Competition Board.
“Acquisition of Lukoil operations in Estonia is a qualitative step for us to further grow and strengthen our retail offer,” Antti Moppel, Olerex Chairman, said. “Our customers will benefit from the synergies resulting from integration of the Lukoil stations into our network,” he added.
Lukoil, the Russia's second largest oil company, was the biggest oil firm after Shell entering the Estonian fuel market in the 1990s. Shell pulled out after a few years, while the Finnish-owned Neste runs 52, and Norwegian Statoil 53 petrol stations in the country. Another Estonian company, Alexela, currently owns 62 petrol stations.
Editor: S. Tambur