Three companies — Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR, trader Gunvor and the UAE’s Bin Butti Group — plan to submit final bids next week for the Italian refinery Italiana Petroli (IP), sources close to the deal told Reuters on Tuesday.
IP, also known as API Group, is owned by the Brachetti-Peretti family and is being prepared for sale with the help of UniCredit. The company processes about 200,000 barrels of oil per day and operates a network of 4,600 petrol stations.
According to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, IP is valued at €2.3-2.5 billion, with SOCAR being named as the main contender. Gunvor and SOCAR have been exploring the possibility of buying longer than Bin Butti, which recently joined the bidding.
Reuters previously reported that final bids for IP were expected by the end of May, with Glencore also named as a possible bidder. Representatives of IP, SOCAR, Gunvor and Bin Butti declined to comment on the information.
