Petroplus finds buyer for Swiss refinery in Cressier
Varo Holding SA, the joint venture between oil trader Vitol and investment firm AtlasInvest, has agreed to buy the 68,000 bpd Cressier refinery and related assets in Switzerland from insolvent Swiss refiner Petroplus.
The acquired assets include Petroplus Tankstorage AG, Oléoduc du Jura Neuchâtelois S.A. and Société Française du Pipeline du Jura.
Varo intends to restart the refinery and continue refining operations, it said.
The closing of the deal is expected in the second quarter of 2012 and is subject to, amongst other things, approvals by courts and certain regulators.
“We are pleased to have completed this transaction in partnership with AtlasInvest,” said Ian Taylor, CEO of the Vitol Group of companies.
“It provides us with access to a quality, niche refinery and a supply chain of storage assets and wholesale marketing opportunities and will become a valuable source of growth for the Vitol Group,” he added.
"We are very pleased to have completed this transaction,” said Marcel van Poecke, chairman of AtlasInvest and co-founder of Petroplus.
“We are now looking forward to working together with Vitol, a world class oil trader, the Swiss management team and all our new employees to grow this business for the long term."
Financial terms were not disclosed.
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