OMV Petrom sells its stake in Congaz to GDF Suez Romania SA

Newsroom 31/07/2014 | 23:17

OMV Petrom , owned by OMV of Austria, said on Thursday it sold its 28.59 percent stake in non-core gas distribution and supply company Congaz SA to GDF SUEZ Energy Romania SA for an undisclosed amount.

“The decision is in line with the OMV Petrom strategy to exit gas distribution and supply activities for end-consumers on the regulated market. We will continue to supply gas to our clients on the free market,” Cristian Secosan, a member of OMV Petrom’s executive board said in a statement.

The statement said the transaction will have a limited impact on the financials of OMV Petrom, given that Congaz sales and total assets represent less than 1 percent of Petrom’s business.

Congaz SA was founded in 1999 by, among others, SNP Petrom (currently OMV Petrom), with the purpose of developing a gas distribution netowrk in the Constanta area, along the Black sea coast. At present, Congaz operates a network of 850 kilometers in pipelines with 55,000 clients in Constanta county.

Prior to the transaction, Congaz was controlled by GDF Suez (28.59 percent of shares), E.ON Ruhras International GMBH (28.59 percent), OMV Petrom SA (28.59 percent) and Petroconst SA (13.94 percent). The rest of the shares are split up between the local authorities in Kogalniceanu, Medgidia, Ovidiu and Cogealac.