The Vitol Group (“Vitol”) and Sargeant Marine (“Sargeant”), the world’s largest asphalt trading, storage and transportation business, today announced that Vitol will be acquiring a 50 percent interest in Sargeant Marine for an undisclosed sum.

Sargeant Marine comprises a global trading operation, which distributes asphalt to customers worldwide, and two strategically positioned terminals in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Constantza, Romania.

On completion, it is anticipated that the new, combined business will trade circa 1.3 million metric tons of asphalt per annum, with hubs in Florida, London and Singapore, and operate a fleet of thirteen specialist vessels – the world’s second largest ISO Asphalt container fleet. It will also benefit from access to Vitol’s asphalt production around the world.

Commenting on the transaction, Daniel Sargeant, Chief Executive Officer of Sargeant Marine said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Vitol. Our new partnership will enable our customers to continue to benefit from our specialist expertise, with the additional backing of the world’s leading energy trader.”

Christopher Bake, a member of Vitol’s Executive Committee, said: “Sargeant is the clear leader in this field. Our team, led by Nick Fay, greatly looks forward to working together to build the business further, serving customers around the world.”

The transaction is expected to complete Q1 2016. Until completion, day to day operations will remain unchanged.

Ends

Media contacts:

Andrea Schlaepfer, Vitol

+44 207 973 4230

Rachael Harper, Vitol

+44 20 7973 4292

 

About Vitol

The Vitol Group was founded in 1966 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Since then the Company has grown significantly to become a major participant in world commodity markets and is now the world’s largest independent energy trader. Its trading portfolio includes crude oil, oil products, LPG, LNG, natural gas, coal, electricity, agricultural products, metals and carbon emissions. Globally, Vitol trades over 5 million barrels of crude oil and oil products per day and revenues in 2014 were USD 270 billion