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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Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
In a dramatic shake-up at the top of the U.S. Justice Department, President Donald Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post, a White House official confirmed on Thursday.
Britain said on Thursday that around 40 countries are exploring ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route effectively blocked by Iran amid ongoing conflict. The U.S. did not take part in the discussions.
American President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to pull the United States out of NATO after European nations refused to join a U.S.-led naval mission to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
There are fears of an oil spill after a drone strike hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker near Dubai on Tuesday, while U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran reportedly killed at least two people. A loud explosion was heard in Beirut in southern Lebanon early Wednesday, as oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel.
Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
Russian-flagged tanker carrying approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil docked at Cuba's Matanzas oil terminal on Tuesday, shipping data confirmed, marking a vital and controversial delivery to an island paralysed by severe energy shortages and a suffocating U.S. blockade.
A Russian military An-26 aircraft has crashed in Crimea, killing all 30 people on board, Russia’s Defence Ministry has confirmed.
Explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus as Israeli air defences intercepted Iranian missiles, Syrian state television reported on Tuesday.
The U.S. national average retail price of petrol rose above $4 a gallon for the first time in over three years on Monday (30 March), according to GasBuddy data, as the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran continued to roil global energy markets.
Japan and Indonesia will deepen coordination on energy security, Tokyo said, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupts vital oil and gas flows to Asia.
China's three largest state-owned airlines have issued warnings regarding their financial outlook for the current year, acknowledging that the eruption of war involving Iran has driven jet fuel prices to unsustainable highs.
Stock markets across Asia fell on Monday as escalating conflict involving Iran drove oil prices sharply higher, fuelling fears of inflation and a potential global recession, with investors reacting to disruption risks in the Strait of Hormuz and prolonged hostilities.
World Trade Organization (WTO) talks broke up with no agreement on Monday on a plan for reform or even on extending a moratorium on e-commerce, piling more pressure on the trade body that finds itself increasingly sidelined by economic nationalism.
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