Bangchak shareholders approve purchase of Esso Thailand
Shareholders of Bangchak Plc on Wednesday approved the company’s acquisition of ExxonMobil Asia’s entire stake in Esso Thailand, the company’s president said.
Bangchak President and CEO Chaiwat Kovavisarac told reporters after the shareholder meeting that 99.9% of its shareholders approved its purchase of ExxonMobil’s stake in Esso Thailand and all remaining ExxonMobil assets in Thailand.
On January 11, ExxonMobil signed a contract to sell its 2,283,750,000 ordinary shares in Esso Thailand, accounting for 65.99% of Esso Thailand’s shares, to Bangchak.
The shareholders also approved Bangchak’s plan to buy the remaining 1,177,108,000 shares in Esso Thailand.
It will pay the same price it did to buy Esso Thailand’s shares from ExxonMobil, Chaiwat said.
The acquisition will be completed by January next year, within 12 months of Bangchak signing the share-purchase deal with ExxonMobil, he said.
The purchase of Esso Thailand is part of Bangchak’s expansion strategy, Chaiwat said.
Bangchak will no longer need to build a second refinery as it can use Esso Thailand’s refinery to increase its oil-refining capability from 174,000 to 294,000 million barrels.
The acquisition will also allow Bangchak to increase the number of its petrol stations from 1,343 to 2,145 by adding Esso Thailand’s 802 stations, Chaiwat said.
