Italy: OMV To Sell its Petrol Retail & Fuel Distribution Business

OMV has announced  that it will withdraw from the Italian market by selling its subsidiary, OMV Italia S.r.L. and its network of 96 service stations by the end of the year.

The OMV Italia service station network is based  in the Northern-Italian region of Triveneto.  Stating limited growth potential, OMV will be focusing on its  petrol retail business in the growth markets of the Danube region, South-Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.

OMV Italia office in Verona has aroound 20 employees and has been operating the OMV service station network in Italy since 1991.  The first OMV servcie station in Italy was opened in Nalles,South Tirol. In the following years, the service station network was expanded to a total of 96 stations. In 2008 OMV's market share amounted to approximately 0.4% of the Italian petrol retail market.

The OMV press release stated “Against the backdrop of rising competition in the European filling station market, OMV is continually working to enhance its service station network. The company is increasingly focusing on markets that offer high growth potential and the best prospects of achieving high market shares such as the Danube region, South-Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. Conversely, the Italian market is highly saturated and offers little opportunity for further development.”   The sale of OMV Italia should be finalized by year-end 2009. Discussions with potential buyers will be carried out in the coming months.

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