Shell to sell Finland, Sweden refining assets to Keele Oy for $640 million
29 Oct 2010
Royal Dutch Shell Plc yesterday unveiled plans to sell a majority of its refining and marketing businesses in Finland and Sweden to Finnish company Keele Oy, for $640 million in cash as part of a strategic refocusing of refining activities by Europe's largest oil company.
Keele Oy is the major shareholder of St1 Holding Oy, whose businesses include fuel retail networks in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Poland.
The Hague, Netherlands-based Shell had said last month that it is in exclusive talks with St1 Holding for the sale of its Swedish and Finnish assets as part of its earlier announced plans of selling 15 per cent of its refinery capacity in Europe and the Americas. (See: Shell in talks with St1 for sale of Swedish, Finnish units)
The sale includes Shell's retail business, including 340 service stations in Sweden, 225 in Finland and its commercial road transport (CRT) in both markets.
The Finland assets are primarily oil products retail and marketing business that include 58 unmanned refueling stations for commercial road transport.
Not included in the sale are Shell's aviation fuel business and its liquid petroleum gas business in Finland and Sweden, whose future, Shell said will be the subject of separate announcements.