Rosneft-led group seals US$12.9b Essar acquisition

MUMBAI: Rosneft PJSC and partners including Trafigura Group Pte Ltd finalised their US$12.9 billion (RM55.29 billion) purchase of India’s Essar Oil Ltd.

It took more than 10 months to complete the deal after it was announced last October and more than two years after Rosneft first confirmed it was in talks to buy the Indian refiner.

The purchase gives Russia’s biggest oil producer access to a global demand centre in Asia, while helping Essar Group reduce its debt by about US$11 billion.

Essar Group sold 49 per cent of Essar Oil Ltd each to Rosneft and a consortium of Trafigura and United Capital Partners, said the Indian conglomerate.

Essar will sell its refinery at Vadinar on India’s west coast and its fuel-retailing business along with a port terminal and power plant that helps feed the refinery.

The deal for the 400,000-barrel-a-day refinery will give Russia’s biggest oil producer an outlet in South Asia for its production as oil-rich countries vie for market share. Bloomberg