Deal done. The Moratti family sold the Saras refinery to the Dutch group Vitol. After days in which rumors chased each other and after the family itself had confirmed that it had ongoing “discussions” with the group for the sale of the 40% stake in Saras, owner of the Sarroch refinery (Cagliari), the green light has arrived definitive.
The stock market reacted well immediately, pushing the stock to almost 2 euros last Friday (+18.1% at 1.96 euros), and then closing it with an increase of 8% at 1.79 euros. With the change of hands, the buyer’s obligation to take a takeover will be triggered and the market will sense a deal.
Supporting the operation would have been, in particular, Angelo and Gabriele Moratti, the two sons of Gian Marco, who passed away in 2018, fathered respectively by Lina Sotis in his first marriage and by Letizia Moratti. Both have a 10% stake through Angel Capital and Stella Holding. And Angelo himself, a year ago, at the expiry of the first lock up, had given Bofa a mandate to place 5% of the capital on the market: half of what was available to him.
Furthermore, the shareholder agreement between Massimo and his nephews Angelo and Gabriele, renewed in March 2020, will expire on June 30th. And Vitol’s offer was too tempting to refuse. The group, with a turnover that has reached 500 billion dollars (463.65 million euros), as well as Saras, has ongoing negotiations with Exxon and Qatar Energy to enter the Rovigo regasification terminal. The share put up for sale, in this case, is 92%, but Snam has a right of first refusal to increase from 7.5% up to 30%.
«After 62 years from its foundation by my father, with my nephews Angelo and Gabriele and my sons Angelomario and Giovanni, I considered that the best guarantee for the future success of the Sarroch refinery was the aggregation with a primary industrial operator in the global energy sector, such as Vitol, equipped with the relational, financial and managerial resources necessary to compete in the current international market context”: this is how Massimo Moratti commented on the agreement in a note. «Therefore I believe that this operation will be positive for all the shareholders, for the workers, for the customers and all the other stakeholders, whom I thank for the trust they have always placed in us. Today – continues Moratti – Saras is a solid and profitable company, leader in the entire Mediterranean basin, and we wish Vitol to be able to expand the successes achieved so far”.