The distributors of Esso in Italy change the owner. The entire distribution network was bought by a consortium of operators composed of Pad Multienergy, Vega Funds, Toil, Dilella Invest and Giap. Eg Group, now former distributors and entered the Italian market following the acquisition by the US oil company Exxonmobil in 2018, ratified the sale on Monday. He owned a network of about 1,200 points of sale of approximately 6% of the national network, mainly for the brand located throughout the Italian territory.
An agreement of 425 million euros
After years under the control of foreign capital, the entire network passes in Italian hands. Eg Italia has reached 2 billion in turnover and has 400 employees. The purchase does not include only fuel distributors, but also all services associated with refueling stations such as road services, restaurants and minimarkets.
The goal of the acquisition is twofold: on the one hand, confirm and not disperse the operations of the British company, active in the Italian market for seven years; On the other hand, expand the services offered in the points of sale with a view to the energy transition with the delivery not only of petrol, but of alternative fuels such as LPG, CNG and GNL. For its part, Eg Group has decided to sell Italian activities to focus on the main markets and strengthen its budget: the proceeds from the sale, in fact, will be used to further reduce its debt.
The preliminary agreement for the passage of hand, which evaluates the activity to a corporate value of 425 million euros, will be notified and subjected to the AGCM authorization (the Competition and Market Authority) and other standard regulatory authorities. The closure is expected by the end of 2025.
Who are the new owners
The Consortium for the acquisition of the EG Italia Network includes:
- Dilella Invest, a Bari group active for over 60 years, manages more than 60 distributors with bars, restaurants and car washes;
- Giap, a company from Modica born in 1970 with 200 stations between Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Tuscany and Lombardy, with refreshment areas and car wash;
- Pad Multienergy, licensee Shell who distributes fuel and manages non-Fuel services;
- Toil, a Neapolitan company that operates in many regions with domestic and industrial LPG and fuel payment solutions;
- Vega fuel, from Mestre, which attacks Venetian companies from the fuel sector since the 1960s, offering car wash, fuel cards and bars/restaurants with Vega Cafè and Toes.
Agostino Apa and Enrico Gampedri, CEOs of Vega Fuel and Pad Multienergy, explain in a note.
The acquisition of Eg Italia allows you to report the control of a strategic asset, such as the network of 1,200 systems for the distribution of fuels and road services (Convenience Store, Catering services), in the hands of national private operators, leader in their reference territories. The operation, unique by setting in the history of our sector, demonstrates how the new challenges stimulate the creativity and adaptation capacity of our companies that have created an alliance capable of finalizing this otherwise impossible project “.
For the EG group, this sale marks the exit from the Italian market. The group will remain in other key countries (such as the US), in line with the debt reduction strategy.
