ORLEN to expand retail presence into Austria
The European Commission has given the green light to ORLEN’s proposed acquisition of 266 fuel stations in the Austrian market. When the deal is completed, Austria will be the seventh European retail market to be served by the ORLEN fuel network. It will position ORLEN close to achieving 97 per cent of its strategic objective for the number of stations in its portfolio by the year 2030. As a result, ORLEN is set to emerge as one of the three major players in the Austrian fuel market, commanding a retail market share of about 10 per cent.
‘Having merged with the LOTOS and PGNiG Groups, we now have the capacity to execute ambitious growth plans, including in retail sales. The European Commission’s decision brings us closer to the strategic goals of growing our business internationally, but also advances our vision to achieve the retail network’s self-sufficiency in terms of energy supply and develop alternative fuels. Out of the 266 stations we’re about to acquire in Austria, 40 are equipped with photovoltaic panels. What is more, we’re set to take control of 110 electric car charging points across 34 locations,’ says Daniel Obajtek, ORLEN’s CEO and President of the Management Board.
A conditional agreement with the Doppler Group was reached early in July this year. Having examined the transaction notified by ORLEN, the European Commission found it compatible with the common market. This means a green light for ORLEN to acquire a 100 per cent stake in Doppler Energie, the operator of the Austrian fuel station network, from the Doppler Group.
The deal will cover 266 stations operating under the Turmöl brand. Of these, nearly half are self-service facilities, catering to the preferences of Austrian consumers who enjoy the convenience of purchasing and paying for fuel directly at the pump. The acquisition will also encompass an extensive network of electric car chargers branded as Turmstrom, to expand to a total of 110 charging points across 34 locations by the year’s end. 96 of the facilities to be acquired by ORLEN are equipped with car wash services, half of them offer convenience stores, and approximately 80 feature a food and beverage concept. The transaction will also include the acquisition of Austrocard, a fuel card provider serving both private and business customers. Austrocard is currently accepted at over 500 locations throughout Austria.
The ORLEN Group Strategy until 2030 aims to expand the retail network to 3,500 sites, with 45% of them located outside of Poland. As at the end of the second quarter of 2023, ORLEN operated 3,157 stations, including 1,919 in Poland, and 1,238 in foreign markets: the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Germany, Slovakia, and Hungary.