Croatian Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZTN) approved the acquisition of local fuel retailer Crodux Derivati Dva by Slovenian energy group Petrol.
The statement from AZTN said that the economic and legal analysis shows that the transaction is primarily about expanding Petrol’s retail network in Croatia by acquiring Crodux’ petrol stations, after which Petrol would have a market share between 20 and 30 % in Croatia, according to the number of petrol stations, while INA would continue to be a market leader with the share of between 40 and 50 %.
AZTN further states that the wholesale market for petroleum products in Croatia is open and easily accessible to competitors from abroad, namely there are no significant barriers to the entry of new and growth of existing market participants. There are significant storage capacities available in Croatia and in the region, which are well distributed and enable the supply of all parts of the country, but also the supply from several different supply routes.
In January, Petrol announced that it has acquired Croatian fuel retailer Crodux Derivati. The statement from the company said that this acquisition will enable Petrol to operate additional 91 petrol stations in Croatia. However, the acquisition is still pending approval of relevant authorities. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. This is Petrol’s largest acquisition in the past 10 years. The company has increased it fuel network in Croatia to more than 200 petrol stations. In 2019, Crodux Plin sold its business related to natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity to Slovenian energy company Petrol and its daughter company Geoplin. More precisely, Geoplin took over the natural gas business, while LPG and electricity operations were taken over by Petrol.
