Wintershall closes sale of VNG shares to EWE
- EWE takes over 15.79 percent share in Verbundnetz Gas AG
- Wintershall focuses on oil and gas production
Kassel. The transaction closed today means EWE Aktiengesellschaft takes over the 15.79 percent share of Wintershall Holding GmbH in the East German company Verbundnetz Gas AG (VNG). The competition authorities, the boards of both companies and the VNG shareholders’ meeting had previously approved the transaction. The transaction will be executed with payment of the purchase price of €320 million and will be financially effective retroactively to January 1, 2014. Wintershall and EWE already agreed on the sale in March 2014.
Wintershall, Germany’s largest internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer, is increasingly concentrating on the upstream sector and is therefore divesting its own natural gas trading and storage business. The handover of the VNG shares is part of this strategy. In 2015 Wintershall intends to expand its global oil and gas production to 160 million barrels of oil equivalent. This represents an increase in production of more than half within one decade.
Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 80 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region. The company wants to expand its business further with exploration and production, selected partnerships, innovation and technological competence. Wintershall employs some 2,500 staff worldwide from 40 nations and is now Germany’s largest,internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer.
Wintershall.Shaping the future.
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WH-10-2014
