Puma Energy Caribe completes acquisition
11 May 2011 - Puma Energy Caribe to serve as new distribution & regional office; to spearhead unparalleled transformation & significant environmental remediation program.
Puma Energy Caribe LLC, a subsidiary of Puma Energy International, is pleased to announce that it has finalized the purchase of all assets once owned by the Caribbean Petroleum Company (Capeco). The purchase is expected to secure over 300 direct and indirect jobs in Puerto Rico and signifies the launch of a significant program of environmental remediation in close cooperation with federal and local authorities.
Puma Energy International has become one of the fastest-growing midstream and downstream oil companies in the Americas and has also expanded significantly in southern Africa.
Capeco was previously among the largest fuel processing, storage, distribution and retail companies in Puerto Rico supplying 15 per cent of the island’s petroleum products consumption. In August 2010 Caribbean Petroleum Refining, Caribbean Petroleum Corporation and Gulf Petroleum Refining Corporation filed a Chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court to liquidate their assets following a catastrophic explosion and fire at the Capeco facility in October 2009.
Puma Energy Caribe LLC agreed to pay US$82 million to acquire Capeco’s assets in a bidding process at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware in December 2010. Today’s announcement marks the successful conclusion of a regulatory review process and also the formal establishment of Puma Energy Caribe LLC which will serve as the owner of Capeco’s former assets and the regional hub for Puma Energy International.
The purchase includes a private deep water jetty, a retail network facility comprising 147 service stations, gasoline, diesel and other fuel storage facilities and undeveloped land within the Free Trade Zone at Bayamon/Cataño.
The service station network acquired from Capeco will include 115 company-owned and 32 leasehold locations. Service stations will be comprehensively upgraded over the coming months and rebranded under the Puma Energy banner, further complementing Puma Energy’s existing service station network in San Juan, Carolina and Utuado.
Puma Energy Caribe LLC has agreed to substantially redevelop the former Capeco refining facility in Bayamón into a state-of-the-art fuel storage depot and, under four agreements signed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Environmental Quality Board, will address environmental issues at 147 gas stations across Puerto Rico. Puma Energy Caribe LLC has voluntarily entered into the agreement in order to resolve outstanding environmental concerns and to clarify the company’s future environmental responsibilities.
Commenting on this transaction, Puma Energy International’s Chairman Pierre Eladari said, “Today’s announcement represents another great step forward. The acquisition will secure up to 300 jobs for the Puerto Rican economy, it will promote reliable fuel supplies and free and fair competition in the marketplace. We also believe this acquisition to be good news for the communities in which we operate – communities that rightfully deserve high standards of professionalism, service and corporate responsibility from their neighbours.”
Victor Domínguez, General Manager of Puma Energy Caribe LLC commented, “We are committed to becoming a competitive player in the local market, to providing an excellent level of service to the inhabitants of Puerto Rico and to launching an ambitious and far reaching environmental remediation program to which we can all be proud”
Further Information
Puma Energy Global Press Office: +44 207 009 1708 or media@puma-energy.com
Contacts in Puerto Rico:
Avant Communications Consultants: Sandra D. Rodríguez Cotto / Pepo García
(787) 773-0000, 773-0001 / (787) 220-4648, 220-4649 / sandra@avantpr.net; pepo@avantpr.net