BP Polska buys Aral
By : Rafal Meszka
British Petroleum said its Polish unit BP Polska will take about 10% of the Polish fuels market after its acquisition of Aral Poland's 103 filling stations, a BP representative told the Business Journal.
"BP has a network of 138 sites and Aral 103 in Poland at the moment," said Dorota Adamska, PR manager at BP Polska. "After combining the two networks, BP will have a 10% share of the market."
In a move that would put BP into first place on the German fuels market and transform its downstream position in central Europe, BP announced July 16 that it will take a majority stake in Veba Oil, owner of Aral and Germany's biggest fuels retailer.
Aral, a wholly owned subsidiary of Veba Oil, is the leading retail fuels marketer in Germany with around 2,560 service stations and 18% market share by volume. Aral also has around 450 service stations in Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Luxembourg.
In the second stage of the deal, BP will take full ownership of Veba Oil including the Aral network and brand. "The deal allows us to develop a significant presence in Central Europe, which was an area already identified as one we would like to enhance," Adamska said.
