The European Commission has cleared Gunvor Group, owned by billionaire Gennady Timchenko, to buy the Petroplus oil refinery in Germany’s Ingolstadt and related German marketing operations, the EC said on Monday.
“The clearance marks a key milestone for Gunvor in the closing process. Gunvor’s purchase of the refinery, which remains subject to additional customary closing conditions and regulatory clearance from competition authorities, is a part of the company’s long-term growth and diversification strategy,” Gunvor said in a statement.
The Ingolstadt refinery is among the best-performing European refineries, with a strong regional presence in Bavaria, one of Germany’s most prosperous regions. The refinery has a processing capacity of about 100,000 barrels per day.
“Gunvor is familiar with and trades the crude oils processed by the Ingolstadt refinery, which will enable greater efficiency for the plant,” Gunvor said.
The transaction is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2012, with support from the local and German state authorities. Details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
The refinery was closed in February after the Swiss company Petroplus announced in January it had launched bankruptcy proceedings in Switzerland, the UK, France, Germany and Belgium due to failure to reach agreement with creditor banks.
Timchenko, the Armenian-born energy trader, 59, ranks 99th on the Forbes list of billionaires and has an estimated fortune of $9.1 billion. After gaining an education in St. Petersburg, Timchenko settled in Finland in 1990, receiving citizenship.
Cyprus-registered Gunvor is one of the world’s largest oil traders and exports about 30 percent of Russia’s crude oil.