Grupa Lotos pays a pretty penny for Esso's gas stations

"Thanks to this transaction the network of our branded stations will increase from 74 to 113, while our market share will increase from 6% to 7.5%. By the end of 2006 we intend to own 150 outlets," said Paweł Olechnowicz, president of Grupa Lotos. It seems that the price paid by Lotos was very high, but the company claims it was worth the money. "The price is not excessive. We paid for outstandingly good locations in strategic places in Mazowsze, Silesia and Wielkopolska," said Marcin Herra, president of Lotos Paliwa. He stressed that jointly with gas stations and plots, the company purchased an efficient system of fleet cards. "An additional advantage are good sales of the gas stations, which stands at 5.2 million litres of fuel each annually," said Herra. For comparison, the sales of Lotos on its own gas stations is almost 60% smaller. "This transaction strengthens the position of Lotos in comparison to Orlen, and so increases the competitiveness of the domestic market," said Andrzej Szcześniak, an expert with the Adam Smith Center. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 6)