SOCAR close to buying oil refiner Italiana Petroli

The founding family of Italiana Petroli is close to finalising the sale of the oil refiner to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), in a deal that would give the Azerbaijani group control of one of Italy’s largest petrol station networks, three sources have said.

According to two of them, the agreement with SOCAR could be signed as early as Monday, unless there is a last-minute delay. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Sources previously told Reuters that the Brachetti-Peretti family, which owns Italiana Petroli, was seeking an enterprise value of around €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion), with the company holding roughly €500 million in cash.

Neither SOCAR nor Italiana Petroli responded to requests for comment. SOCAR is being advised by Intesa Sanpaolo IMI CIB, while UniCredit is advising the Italian owners.

Italiana Petroli has a refining capacity of around 200,000 barrels per day and runs more than 4,500 fuel stations across Italy. It also owns significant storage and transport infrastructure, including facilities for jet fuel. Last year, it reported an adjusted core profit of nearly €500 million.

The expected sale follows Italy’s Moratti family divesting its controlling stake in Saras to commodity trader Vitol last year. Such moves highlight a wider trend of private investors withdrawing from Europe’s increasingly volatile refining industry.

For SOCAR, the acquisition would strengthen its foothold in the Mediterranean fuel market, adding to its 200,000 bpd STAR refinery in Türkiye. Italiana Petroli currently owns a refinery in Ancona, a stake in the SARPOM refinery in Trecate, and a tolling contract at the Alma refinery in Ravenna.

In 2023, the company expanded its refining and storage capacity further by completing the purchase of ExxonMobil’s Italian assets.

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