Bangchak finalises Esso Thailand acquisition

The energy conglomerate Bangchak Corporation, listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), finalised its acquisition of Esso Thailand shares via a tender offer. The deal, valued at 3.54 billion baht, has resulted in Bangchak owning 76.3% of Esso Thailand.

Previously, Bangchak secured a 65.99% stake in Esso Thailand, the entity managing Esso petrol stations, from Esso Asia Holdings Pte for 22.6 billion baht. The corporation also revealed its plan to purchase the remaining 34.01% stake through a tender offer to investors in the stock market. The offer, set at 9.89 baht per share, ran from early September until October 12.

Phatpuree Chinkulkitnivat, Bangchak’s senior executive vice-president for accounting and finance, stated that Bangchak eventually bought an extra 10.31% share. The tender offer was for a total of 1.177 billion shares, but only 358.4 million could be acquired by the company.

Funds for the tender offer were partly sourced from a loan provided by Bangkok Bank and Bangchak’s cash reserves, aiming to keep the debt-to-equity ratio under 1.1 times.

Bangchak previously declared its expectation to create synergy by merging its operations with Esso Thailand, projecting an additional income of 3 billion baht from the consolidation by 2025. As part of this plan, the company intends to rebrand Esso-owned petrol stations to Bangchak starting in November.

By Alex Morgan

Caption: Photo by NoOne taken from Flickr