Regulatory News:
Petroplus Holdings AG (SWX:PPHN) today announced that, effective 1
March 2008, it has entered into a partnership ("PBF") with the
Blackstone Group and First Reserve, to pursue acquisitions of crude
oil refineries in the United States. Each partner has committed USD
667 million in equity to this venture. PBF will assemble a small group
of highly experienced professionals in the U.S. to examine potential
opportunities. Thomas O´Malley, Chairman of Petroplus, will act as the
Chief Executive Officer of the Partnership.
Commenting on the new venture, Mr. O´Malley said "there are
interesting opportunities in the U.S., and Petroplus´s Board of
Directors is extremely pleased that we were able to assemble partners
with two outstanding organizations, both of whom are familiar with the
refining and energy business and bring to the partnership
extraordinary talents and financial support. This investment vehicle
gives Petroplus accretive expansion opportunities, without the need to
significantly lever up the balance sheet or issue equity to support a
U.S. growth vehicle. This initiative opens up a new geographic area of
growth for Petroplus and should allow for Petroplus to add to earnings
per share and free cash flows without distraction from its current
operations."
Petroplus´s Chief Executive Officer (effective 1 March 2008), Mr.
Robert Lavinia, said "while we continue to be focused on our business
in Europe, we are excited about the possibility of providing our
shareholders with another avenue of growth. Mr. O´Malley has great
experience in this area and Petroplus, we believe, will enjoy success
from this venture."
Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone´s Chairman and CEO, said "Tom
O´Malley´s track record in creating value for his shareholders through
buying and integrating refining assets is outstanding. We know him
well from when Blackstone invested in Premcor and Tom served as its
Chairman and CEO from 2002 until its sale to Valero in 2005.
Blackstone is delighted to be in a partnership involving Tom and the
Company he Chairs, Petroplus."
William Macaulay, CEO and Chairman of First Reserve Corporation,
said, "Tom O´Malley is a world class executive with a consistent
record of finding and creating value in the refining industry. We are
very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with him and the
Company he Chairs, Petroplus, to acquire US refining assets. As the
largest energy-focused private equity firm, we look forward to
supporting this excellent management team to develop its next refining
platform."
Petroplus Holdings AG is the largest independent refiner and
wholesaler of petroleum products in Europe. Petroplus focuses on
refining and currently owns and operates five refineries across
Europe: the Coryton refinery on the Thames Estuary in the United
Kingdom, the Ingolstadt refinery in Ingolstadt, Germany, the Belgium
Refining Company refinery in Antwerp, Belgium, the Cressier refinery
in the canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and the Teesside refinery in
Teesside, United Kingdom. The refineries have a combined throughput
capacity of approximately 625,000 bpd. Petroplus has signed a letter
of intent to acquire the Petit Couronne and Reichstatt refineries,
located in France, from Shell International Petroleum Company Limited.
The refineries have a total nameplate crude capacity of 239,000
barrels per day. Further information is available at
www.petroplusholdings.com.
The Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) is a leading global alternative
asset manager and provider of financial advisory services. Its
alternative asset management businesses include the management of
corporate private equity funds, real estate opportunity funds, funds
of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior debt funds, proprietary hedge
funds and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides
various financial advisory services, including mergers and
acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and
fund placement services. Further information is available at
www.blackstone.com.
First Reserve is the world´s leading private equity firm in the
energy industry. Throughout its 25-year history of investing solely in
the global energy industry, First Reserve has developed a strong
franchise, utilizing its broad base of specialized industry knowledge
as an advantage. First Reserve believes that strategic diversification
across a wide range of energy industry sectors has been a major
contributor to the long-term, superior investment record achieved by
the First Reserve Funds across economic cycles. Further information is
available at www.firstreserve.com
