September 12, 2022 [Storage Terminals Magazine] – Liwathon, a holding of UK-based investor Barclay Rowland, paid €32.8 million for Vopak EOS – the largest independent oil products terminal operator in the Baltic Region.
Dutch company Royal Vopak NV and Russian terminal operator Global Ports Investments, announced the sale of all shares in Vopak EOS to Abu Dhabi-based Liwathon in April.
The value of the transaction was not disclosed at the time, however, Vopak has said that it sold its 50 percent holding in EOS for €16.3 million.
Global Ports is scheduled to disclose its results for the first half of 2019 to the London stock exchange on September 20. It is believed that both companies sold their stakes for an equal price.
Gert Tiivas, Liwathon CEO said: “We have said repeatedly that we will not comment on the price.” He also said that he couldn’t comment in any way on the assumption that both Vopak and Global Ports received an equal amount for their holdings.
According to transit and business expert Raivo Vare, after Guvnor – the main supplier of the Estonian operation on Vopak – started shipping liquid cargoes directly via Russian ports, the terminals situated at Muuga lost their role in the transit chain.
Mr Vare added that in the servicing of oil products the level of politicisation is very high and amounts of transit are rather set to decline.
As a result of changes in the business environment of the oil transit sector and Russian sanctions, Vopak made a net loss of €157 million in 2016/17, mostly as a result of revaluation of assets.
Vopak finished 2018 with a loss of €872,000 on sales of €23.9 million.
Liwathon EOS owns four oil terminals at Muuga with a combined capacity of 1.05 million cubic metres. It serves sea and rail transportation of oil products from Eastern Europe to Western Europe, America and Southeast Asia.
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