The largest oil producer in Russia, Rosneft has agreed to purchase up to 21% shareholdings in Italian refining company Saras. This purchase was announced jointly by the companies.
The deal comes after an agreement reached towards the end of 2012 for the two firms to establish a joint venture to trade and process crude oil and sell refined oil products.
Saras has one of the largest refineries in Europe located on the island of Sardinia. The refiner's main shareholder, the Moratti family has agreed to sell 13.7% of the firm to Rosneft for the price of Eur178.5 million or US$234 million.
The joint venture, Rosneft JV Projects, would also be publicly bidding for 7.29% of Saras for Eur1.37 per share according to the company. After all the transactions, the holdings company of the Moratti's, Angelo Moratti SapA would retain ownership of 50.02% in Saras.
According to Rosneft chairman Igor Sechin, "We believe that this transaction is an important step in building a long-lasting cooperation between Rosneft and Saras."
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