Chilean liquid petroleum gas distributor Abastible said on Friday that it reached a deal to buy the LPG division of Spain’s Compañía Española de Petróleos in Portugal and Spain for €275 million ($303 million), entering Europe for the first time.
Abastible, which is part of local energy and natural resources conglomerate Empresas Copec, said the investment builds on its leadership positions in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, according to a securities filing.
Cepsa’s units have six storage and filling stations, two other storage plants and more than 200 third-party warehouses to supply Portugal and Spain, including the Canary Islands and the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. The units sell some 240,000 metric tons per year of LPG, making the firm the leading supplier in Spain and fifth largest in Portugal.
The expansion comes after Copec and its rival Empresas Gasco sold their combined 100% stake in the Chilean LPG distributor for a total of $423 million in 2021 to an investment vehicle run by Houston-based Arroyo Energy Partners. The Chilean Supreme Court had ordered the divestment on the risk of limiting competition.
For its part, Cepsa said the sale is part of its strategy to become a leader in the energy transition by stepping up investments in sustainable energy, such as biofuels, electric mobility, green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels.
Cepsa is backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund manager Mubadala and the US-based private equity firm Carlyle Group.