EU Clears Trafigura’s Acquisition of Biofuels Giant Greenergy

The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of the European business of UK-based biofuels producer Greenergy by commodities trading giant Trafigura.

Following a review of the proposed transaction under the EU Merger Regulation, the Commission concluded that the deal would not raise competition concerns, because the companies would have a limited combined market position resulting from the deal.  

Trafigura announced it March that it had agreed to acquire Greenergy’s European business from Brookfield Asset Management and its listed affiliate Brookfield Business Partners for an undisclosed sum.  

Greenergy, founded in 1992, is currently one of Europe’s largest suppliers of biofuels with manufacturing plants in the UK and the Netherlands and a leading distributor of road fuels in the UK.

“The acquisition of Greenergy presents a unique opportunity for Trafigura to strengthen its fuel supply operations in Europe and to add the physical production and distribution of renewable fuels to its growing biofuels business,” the commodities trading giant said at the time.

Ben Luckock, Global Head of Oil at Trafigura, commented: “As Europe transitions to a lower carbon future and the refining industry adapts to changing market dynamics, companies like Greenergy become increasingly important.”

Trafigura and other oil trading giants have amassed huge profits over the past two years of market uncertainty and volatility, and are now looking to reinvest part of the profits into expanding operations into refining and biofuels supply.

Trafigura said in April that Rhône Energies, its consortium with Entara LLC, has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy the Fos-sur-Mer refinery and the Toulouse and Villette de Vienne terminals from ExxonMobil’s local unit Esso.

The commodity trading industry currently has the means to reinvest strategically in long-term deals and strategic decisions, according to consultancy Oliver Wyman. One winner move for reinvesting the profit windfalls could be to invest in assets, “which gives traders greater optionality and influence over the commodities they trade,” Oliver Wyman said in a report earlier this year.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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