TNK-BP ACQUIRES CHAIN OF RETAIL GAS STATIONS IN UKRAINE
Russian-British TNK-BP Acquires Vik Oil For USD 313 Million

Ukrainian News-on-line, Ukrainian News Agency, Fri, May 28, 2010 

KYIV - Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP closed a deal on acquisition of 100% of Ukrainian group of companies Vik Oil, which owns 118 fuel stations in thirteen Ukrainian regions, as well as 8 oil depots, 49 petrol tankers and 122 land plots in various stages of development, for USD 313 million, reads a press release issued by TNK-BP.

"The deal amount totaled approximately USD 313 million including the price of shares and debt securities of the "Vik Oil" group, as well as the cost of working capital (including oil product inventory) and a number of auxiliary assets which became part of the deal in the course of its realization," the company said. The deal received approval from the Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee, TNK-BP remarked.

"For the ten years of its operation in the Ukrainian market TNK-BP has consistently invested in the development of its retail network. Acquisition of the "Vik Oil" group is a landmark event for our company, and the deal is in line with the strategy for expansion of our business in Ukraine. We can state today that TNK-BP is present in nearly all the regions of Ukraine", - said German Khan, Executive Director of TNK-BP.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the chain of filling stations of VikOil, which used to operate under the brand of Ukrtatnafta, undergoes re-branding to create Formula trademark.

The chain of filling stations of VikOil purchases oil products of standard of not lower than Euro-3 from the Lisichansk petroleum refinery (belongs to TNK-BP) and LUKOIL-Odesa petroleum refinery.

The chain purchased oil products from foreign suppliers to sell fuel under the trademark Formula (petrol of not lower than Euro-5 standard and diesel fuel of not lower than Euro-4 standard): Orlen Letuva (former Mazeikiu Nafta; Lithuania), Mozyrskyi petroleum refinery (Belarus), and STATOIL (Norway).
The Russian-British TNK-BP Holding is one of the largest oil and gas companies. TNK-BP Commerce (Kyiv) manages the Ukrainian assets of this company.

FOOTNOTE:  TNK-BP is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., www.usubc.org.