Acquisition of Aral will give BP leading position on filling station market

British Petroleum (BP) is strengthening its presence on the Polish fuel retail market, after acquiring the Aral chain of filling stations. BP agreed to pay $1.63 billion for a 51% stake in Veba Oil, owner of Aral, Germany's largest fuel retail distributor. BP also agreed to pay $850 million to cover Veba Oil's debts. As a result of the deal BP will take over the 120 Aral gas stations in Poland, although it is unclear whether the Aral logo will disappear. In total BP will control 256 stations in Poland, making it a leader among foreign investors on the fuel retail market. Its main foreign competitor is Statoil of Norway. Foreign companies currently operate just 10% of all gas stations in Poland. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3) A.K.