OMV and VERBUND close purchase of 51% interest in Gas Connect Austria
OMV, the international, integrated oil, gas and chemicals company headquartered in Vienna, and VERBUND, Austria’s leading electricity company and one of the largest hydropower producers in Europe, today closed VERBUND’s purchase of OMV’s 51% interest in Gas Connect Austria GmbH.
The purchase price agreed for the 51% OMV stake in Gas Connect Austria GmbH amounts to EUR 271 mn, less dividend payouts for the 2020 business year totaling around EUR 33 mn (for the 51% OMV interest). In addition, VERBUND assumes the outstanding liabilities of Gas Connect Austria GmbH to OMV of around EUR 212 mn. Under the conditions of the purchase agreement, VERBUND has paid approximately EUR 451 mn to OMV. OMV has settled a cash-pool liability to a subsidiary of Gas Connect Austria GmbH of around EUR 7 mn.
This transaction reduces OMV’s debt by around EUR 592 mn, which will have a positive impact on OMV’s gearing. This debt relief is based on the transaction price for 51% of shares in Gas Connect Austria GmbH plus the shareholder loan that has been consolidated in full by OMV until now. In addition, VERBUND has assumed Gas Connect Austria GmbH’s outstanding cash-pool liabilities to OMV.
OMV is thereby pursuing its strategy of exiting the regulated gas transport business and engaging in proactive portfolio management to continue on its profitable growth course. Gas trading and gas storage will remain an important part of the OMV portfolio.
OMV Aktiengesellschaft
OMV produces and markets oil and gas, as well as chemical products and solutions in a responsible way and develops innovative solutions for a circular economy. With Group sales revenues of EUR 17 bn and a workforce of around 25,000 employees in 2020 (incl. Borealis), OMV is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. In Exploration & Production, OMV has a strong base in Central and Eastern Europe as well as a balanced international portfolio, with Middle East & Africa, the North Sea, Russia and Asia-Pacific as core regions. Daily average production was 463,000 boe/d in 2020 with an emphasis on natural gas. In Refining & Marketing, OMV operates three refineries in Europe and owns a 15% share in ADNOC Refining and ADNOC Global Trading, with a total processing capacity of more than 500,000 bbl/d. Furthermore, OMV operates about 2,100 filling stations in ten European countries and runs gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany. In 2020, total natural gas sales volumes amounted to around 164 TWh. In Chemicals & Materials, OMV, together with its subsidiary Borealis, is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals, fertilizers and the mechanical recycling of plastics. The company supplies services and products to customers around the globe through Borealis and its two important joint ventures: Borouge (with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, based in UAE) and Baystar™ (with Total, based in the US). Sustainability is an integral part of OMV’s corporate strategy. OMV supports the transition to a lower-carbon economy and has set measurable targets for reducing carbon intensity as well as for the implementation of new energy and petrochemical solutions.