Essar Group announced on Monday that it has completed the purchase of UK petrol-station operator SGN Retail, adding 118 forecourts to its portfolio.
The acquisition brings the total number of sites operated by EET Retail, the retail arm of Essar Energy Transition Fuels, to 235 across Britain.
Deal values cited by two unnamed sources range from £400 million to £450 million (about $540 million to $608 million). An Essar spokesperson declined to confirm the exact figure.
“This acquisition accelerates our plan to build a nationwide, vertically integrated platform of 800 sites, backed by direct refinery supply and delivering competitive prices at the pump for UK motorists,” said Arvan Ruia, chief executive of EET Retail.
EET Retail is part of Essar Energy Transition Fuels, which runs the 200,000-barrel-per-day Stanlow refinery in the United Kingdom.
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The refinery link secures fuel supply for the growing network.
Financing for the transaction comes from a combination of cash and a £250-million senior debt facility. Participating lenders include First Abu Dhabi Bank, Macquarie Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and SMBC Bank International.
Essar’s long-term goal is to operate 800 fuel-retail sites in the UK by 2031. The current addition of SGN Retail’s stations represents a significant step toward that target, roughly a third of the way to the envisioned network.
The deadline looms in 2031.
