November 4 (SeeNews) - German gas, chemicals and petroleum storage provider Oiltanking said that it agreed to dispose of its 91.1% ownership in a liquid storage terminal in Varna region to Bulgaria's Astra-Finance, a subsidiary of fuel trading and railway services group Bulmarket.
Oiltanking did not reveal the reasons for the sale or the financial terms of the transaction in a press release published on Thursday.
You can download the 2024 Renewable energy in Southeast Europe report here
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
The remaining shares in the facility are owned by the Port of Varna and are not subject to the deal.
The liquid storage terminal has a capacity of 25,860 cubic metres (cbm) and is located near Devnya, at the western end of the port of Varna in northeastern Bulgaria. Benefiting from access to vessel and railcar loading and unloading as well as to dedicated pipelines for chemicals, it provides storage and handling services for inorganic chemicals, biofuels and edible oils.
The divestment hinges on customary approvals by third parties and is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
"We will do our utmost to make sure that the transition occurs as smooth as possible for all parties concerned and to further develop the future of Oiltanking Bulgaria," Astra-Finance CEO Stanko Stankov said.
Oiltanking, a subsidiary of German energy and chemicals holding company Marquard & Bahls, has other operations in the US, Denmark, India, Indonesia and South Africa.
Astra-Finance is a subsidiary of the Astra Group, which is itself part of the Bulmarket Group, a large privately-held manufacturer of biodiesel, refined and unrefined oils and free acids as well as a rail freight services provider.
Bulmarket also owns vegetable oils and biodiesel producer Astra Bioplant, which is investing in solar power and energy storage.