VARO ENERGY FURTHER EXPANDS ACTIVITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS
ACQUISITION OF 32 ‘TANKSTATIONS VAN DEN BELT’
CHAM, 5TH APRIL 2018 – VARO ENERGY (“VARO”), AN INTEGRATED FUEL SUPPLY COMPANY ACTIVE IN NORTH WEST EUROPE, ANNOUNCES THE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE 100% SHAREHOLDING IN GEBROEDERS VAN DEN BELT BV AND EXPLOITATIEMAATSCHAPPIJ VAN DEN BELT BV, THE HOLDING COMPANIES OF TANKSTATIONS VAN DEN BELT BV.
VARO, an integrated fuel supply company, active in refining, storage and marketing of fuel products to retail and wholesale customers has a leading market position in transportation, supplying fuels in Benelux(1) and is one of the largest blenders and distributors of renewable fuels in the region. It is a significant fuel supplier, which operates or supplies nearly 200 gas fuel service stations under the brands of Argos, amiGo or Brand Oil across the country.
VARO CEO Roger Brown said: “With this acquisition, we are continuing to broaden our company’s presence in the retail segment, in line with our strategy to grow through prudent acquisitions – alongside our continued organic growth. This sustainable growth strategy enables VARO to provide the most efficient supply solutions to our business clients and consumers across North West Europe. This is another step forward in our commitment to continuously expand and improve our offering to our customers.”
Van den Belt directors Gerrit and Arjen van den Belt commented: “We are very pleased with this transaction. We believe VARO is the right partner in this changing market to take our network of gas fuel service stations to the next level in terms of quality and service.”
Oliehandel van den Belt BV is not part of the transaction and one of the current owners will continue to own and manage this company, which is active in commercial fuels, lubricants, cleaning products and AdBlue supply to commercial end-users.
Closing for this transaction is expected in early June 2018, subject to the approval of the Dutch competition authorities.
Financial details have not been disclosed.
About VARO Energy
VARO is an integrated fuel supply company that produces and supplies fuel for cars, trucks, ships, aeroplanes and homes, LPG for cooking and the manufacturing of plastics, and bitumen for the construction of roads. VARO operates throughout the fuel supply chain with refining, storage, blending, distribution, sales and marketing assets and activities in robust markets in North West Europe. This efficient and integrated business model enables VARO to optimise margins and risks through active risk management, with the primary purpose of promoting stability of earnings. The Company has a strong asset base of two refineries (of which one is 45% owned by VARO), a bitumen plant, 144 fuel distribution outlets (owned and leased), 12 river bunker stations and 232 retail outlets (gas fuel service stations and supply outlets) across Switzerland, Germany, Benelux and France. With total revenues of USD 13.4 billion in 2017, VARO has an ambitious growth strategy through organic growth and prudent acquisitions.
For more information about VARO, please visit www.varoenergy.com.
About the Van den Belt Companies
The company owns and operates a network of 32 retail service stations under the Van den Belt brand in the North and North-east of Netherlands.
The company also supplies fuels, lubricants, cleaning products, AdBlue and required tanks to commercial customers. This activity will remain with one of the current owners of the company and is not part of the current transaction with VARO Energy.
For more information about Van den Belt, please visit http://www.oliehandelvandenbelt.nl/