Greece: The Aegean Marine Petroleum Network has entered into an agreement to acquire Verbeke Bunkering, a physical supplier of marine fuel in the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam (ARA) region, the world's second largest bunkering market. The acquisition, which is subject to the completion of detailed documentation, is scheduled to close by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
Verbeke Bunkering is majority owned by the fourth generation of the Verbeke family, which has an operating history of more than 100 years initially in shipping and subsequently in bunkering. As a physical supplier, Verbeke Bunkering covers the entire ARA region, including key ports surrounding Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam such as Ghent, Zeebruges, Flushing, Terneuzen, and Sluiskil.
The company provides bunkering services in port to a diverse group of ship operators as well as marine fuel traders, brokers and other users.
Verbeke Bunkering operates a total of 18 bunkering vessels, of which nine are owned and nine are chartered-in. Two of the nine owned vessels are joint ventures in which Verbeke holds a minority stake. In connection with the acquisition, Aegean has agreed to purchase the nine owned bunkering vessels and assume the contracts for the nine vessels chartered-in by Verbeke. Additionally, Aegean will assume the contract for a bunkering tanker newbuilding, of which Verbeke holds a 50 percent stake, scheduled to be delivered in 2010.
"Including our latest acquisition, Aegean has more than tripled its global reach since the company's IPO in December 2006," said E Nikolas Tavlarios, President of Aegean.
Verbeke will continue to be led by its Chief Executive Officer, Tony Vertommen.