A lot is happening on the fuel and energy market. We are witnessing a giant merger between PKN ORLEN S.A. and LOTOS S.A. GROUP, which involves the acquisition of selected operating assets – 9 fuel terminals and 2 bitumen production plants, by an independent market investor. Strategic advisory and financial due diligence on the acquisition of those assets was provided to the investor by BDO’s Team of Experts.
Divestment of a portion of the assets to an independent logistics operator is a requirement imposed by the European Commission (a so-called remedial measure), which ensures that appropriate structures and relationships are maintained on a competitive market. Our Client – UNIMOT S.A. was chosen as the buyer of the above assets as a result of our professional cooperation that has been recognized publicly: “We thank our advisors who have been working with us on the initiated acquisition by the Unimot Group of fuel terminals and bitumen business as part of the acquisition of the Lotos Group by PKN ORLEN. Implementation of remedial measures had no precedent in Poland. This is an operation that, when it comes to speed and complexity, placed special demands before the competing investors and their advisors. […]" – Grzegorz Derecki, Esq., director of Unimot’s Legal Office said.
It should be added that once the transactions agreed in January 2022 in the form of a preliminary agreement are finalized, the UNIMOT Group will become the third player on the fuel storage market and the second player on the market in terms of bitumen sales in Poland.
- We are glad that the BDO Team could support the investor with its knowledge and experience. Advisory on such a large transaction must be complex and precise. All to ensure investor security. Each step must be thought out, analyzed, and any consequences presented to the investor. Because it is the investor that makes all of the decisions – Tomasz Rudawski, head of BDO’s Advisory Department commented.
- Financial due diligence on a transaction as complex as this one was in reality a big challenge, but I believe that the experience we have acquired while working on several large due diligence projects in recent years allowed us to contribute an added value to this transaction. Especially noteworthy is the fact that BDO provided Unimot with financial due diligence, as well as strategic financial advisory services. We see this as a great honor, but also as an acknowledgement of BDO’s quickly growing standing on the corporate finance market – Tomasz Reiter, Regional Managing Partner of BDO’s Audit Department, Region South, said.
What is more, BDO has the privilege to also provide comprehensive financial advisory services to ORLEN Południe S.A. on a strategic project to launch a new business line – for the production of energy from renewable sources. The project is in line with the European Union’s and Poland’s policy on a pro-ecological transformation of the energy sector.
- So far we have supported our Client in all of the transactional aspects of Corporate Finance (Strategy, Transaction Services – financial & tax due diligence, Valuation, Negotiation) relating to the successful acquisition of three large biogas plants – Tomasz Rudawski added.
Unimot’s entire announcement: Grupa Unimot podpisała przedwstępną umowę zakupu terminali paliwowych i zakładów produkcji asfaltów Grupy Lotos - UNIMOT S.A