Sources inform “Globes” that Delek Group Ltd. (TASE:DLEKG) has bid for Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS; LSE: RDSA) gas stations in Greece. Delek Group made the bid through subsidiary Delek Europe BV. The bid, and the two competing bids, are reportedly in the region of €350-400 million.
In June, Delek announced that it was conducting a preliminary examination of the matter, which it said was non-binding.
Delek has two rivals in the bidding. One is Russia’s LukOil (RTS: LKOH), the country’s second largest oil company and one of the largest in the world, with Greek refinery Motor Oil (Hellas) Corinth Refineries SA. One of LukOil’s partners is ConocoPhilips Inc. (NYSE: COP). Last year, LukOil acquired Turkish fuel distributor Akpet, which operates 700 gas stations in the country, for $500 million, and achieved a 10% share of the local market.
The other bidder for Shell’s Greek gas stations, Motor Oil, recently lost a BP plc (NYSE; LSE: BP) tender for its 1,200 gas stations in Greece. Greece’s largest refinery, Hellenic Petroleum SA, won the tender with a bid of €395 million. Since Hellenic Petroleum said that it would not participate in the Shell gas stations sale, Motor Oil hopes to increase its share of the Greek petroleum market by acquiring Shell’s business.
Delek Europe owns 800 gas stations in the Benelux countries, which it acquired in 2007 from Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) for €400 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 2, 2009
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