9/18/2006

Poland’s richest tycoon sets his sights on Tamoil

POLAND’S richest man Jan Kulczyk has emerged as a bidder in the E3bn ($3.8bn, £2bn) auction of Libya’s European oil arm Tamoil.

US private equity giant Carlyle Group, Spanish oil group Repsol, and Italian oil refiner ERG, have so far been the only bidders reported to have put in final bids by the 31 July deadline.

But sources close to the three now say that Kulczyk is seen as a prime candidate to win the auction, which began in March.

Tamoil, which was bought by the Libyan government in the 1980s, offers the chance of a step change in scale for the winning bidder. It owns three oil refineries in Switzerland, Italy and Germany, and nearly 3,000 petrol stations acrosss Europe, including 10% of the Italian market.

Carlyle Group has been pushing hard to expand its refining business Petroplus, buying Exxon Mobil’s Ingolstadt refinery in July and the Belgian Refining Corporation in April. ERG is keen to bolster its position in Italy and Repsol is seeking to expand outside its core region of Spain. The four bidders are understood to now be engaged in intense negotiations over whether Tamoil’s owner, Libyan state investment vehicle Lafico, will take responsibility for any long-term environmental liabilities of the plant.

The poor state of repair of some of the company’s refineries represents a serious financial risk. If the Libyans refuse to give the guarantees bidders are seeking, they may cut their bids by more than E1bn. French bank BNP Paribas is managing the sale for Lafico.

Kulczyk’s involvement in the Eastern European oil industry has been peppered with intrigue. He played a central role in the “Orlen affair” which has rocked Poland’s business and political world over the last three years.

Polish investigators claim Kulczyk was the middle man appointed by leading members of the Polish government to negotiate the sale of Gdansk Refinery, and possibly also a major stake in PKN Orlen itself, to Russian oil giant Lukoil. Kulcyzk holds 4.99% of the shares of PKN Orlen.

His estimated fortune of $4bn makes him by far the richest man in Poland. His company Kulczyk Holding has made money by acting as an intermediary in Polish privatisations, buying shares of newly privatised companies and then selling stakes on to foreign bidders.

he Tamoil sale is just one in a long list of European refineries and petrol stations being put up for sale.

The Business has learned that US oil giant Exxon Mobil has put its Eastern European petrol station network up for sale in a deal expected to earn around $200m.

The company, which is managing the sale internally, has contacted interested buyers for the stations, which number around 35 in Hungary, 35 in the Czech Republic, 15 in Slovakia and five in Bulgaria.

BP is selling its Coryton refinery in the UK. Kuwait Petroleum is selling its refinery in Rotterdam.

Chevron is close to completing the sale of its share in the Nerefco refinery in the Netherlands. It is also selling petrol stations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, for which Italy’s Eni is seen as the most likely buyer.

Source:thebusinessonline.com



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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonimowy said...

Since Jan Kulczyk is back, there are all the time news about his new investments.

8/06/2009 11:36 AM  

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