NIS’s gas stations in Bulgaria to become AVIA – Uni Energy waiting for Commission’s approval to buy NIS Petrol Bulgaria worth more than EUR 30 million

The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition has announced that it has been notified of the intention of Uni Energy OOD to take over NIS Petrol Bulgaria, which has submitted a request for approval of concentration.

Uni Energy is a Bulgarian fuel retailer, owned by Ivaylo Konstantinov. Uni Energy is a partner in the company Avia Bulgaria, along with the Swiss company Avia International and a third partner, TTN Commerce. Until last year’s summer, 8 of the 13 locations of the Avia brand were run by Uni Energy. If the takeover comes through, Gazprom’s locations will be rebranded into the Avia gas station chain, and the number of gas stations under that brand in Bulgaria will exceed 30.

Naftna Industrija Srbije, which manages a network of 23 gas stations in Bulgaria, announced at the end of July that its board of directors had approved the sale of the Bulgarian branch NIS Petrol Bulgaria, fully owned by NIS, “because the company continues to struggle with its operations in the country.”

Earlier this year, NIS announced that it was considering exiting Bulgaria, but also Romania, where it has 19 gas stations.

Srbijagas previously interested as well?

By the way, as Kapital Insights reported, Srbijagas was also interested in purchasing the NIS Petrol Bulgaria branch. This Bulgarian portal wrote back in May that the Serbian seller, under Russian control, had been negotiating with Bulgarian Uni Energy, but that Serbian Srbijagas had also expressed interest.

– Two options have emerged as a potential buyer of the Gazprom chain of gas station in Bulgaria: a Serbian and a Bulgarian company. The Serbian option comes from a statement of Dusan Bajatovic, CEO of Serbian state-run company Srbijagas, who recently announced plans for “possible expansion of the company's activities through the purchase of the Russian network of gas stations in Bulgaria and Romania” – Kapital Insights wrote at the time.

The Bulgarian portal added that, previously, EKO, bidding via its Greek parent company, a Greek investor, backed by Motor Oil Hellas, and Bulgarian wholesaler GTA Petroleum had been among the favorites for the Bulgarian NIS Petrol.

NIS Petrol seventh biggest chain in Bulgaria

NIS’s Bulgarian package includes 23 Gazprom-branded gas stations, a fuel storage facility in Kostinbrod and 12 land plots.

Kapital insights writes that NIS Petrol is the seventh largest chain in Bulgaria in terms of revenue with a turnover of just over 150 million levs (75 million euro) for 2023, down 31.4% year on year. In recent years it has been operating at a loss.

It is added that the sale process began in the autumn of 2023 and that the estimated value exceeds EUR 30 million.

B. P.

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

JP Srbijagas Novi Sad

Commission for Protection of Competition Bulgaria

NIS

NIS Petrol Bulgaria

Uni Energy Bulgaria

AVIA

Gazprom

EKO Bulgaria

Motor Oil Hellas

GTA Petroleum

purchase of NIS Bulgarian branch

NIS gas stations in Bulgaria