M&A

Ip distributors become Azerbaijani: sale to Socar Group to be signed

100% sale now close for the network of the Italian Api group. The value of the transaction would be around 3 billion.

by Carlo Festa

16 September 2025

2' min read

Key points

Numbers
Strategy

2' min read

Signatures are nearing for the sale of Api, the historic company headed by the Brachetti Peretti family with a network of over 4,500 IP-branded fuel distributors. As already anticipated by Il Sole 24 Ore on 30 August, the handover of 100% of the Api group, one of the largest networks of fuel distributors in Italy, to Socar (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) is close.

The international news agency Reuters also announced an agreement yesterday. The transaction would, according to rumours, have a valuation of just under EUR 3 billion, i.e. close to the estimate given months ago: around EUR 2.5 billion, with a cash availability of around EUR 500 million.

The Socar group is being assisted in the transaction by Intesa Sanpaolo IMI CIB, while UniCredit is supporting the owner of IP, the Brachetti Peretti family. A competitive process had been underway for almost a year with several foreign multinationals as potential buyers: also in the running was Bin Butti Group, a group from the United Arab Emirates. Last June, binding offers were submitted by the potential interested parties. According to rumours, Socar's operation should be financed by existing bank lines and the Baku government itself.

The numbers

The Api group has a total refining capacity of about 200,000 barrels per day and operates a network of more than 4,500 service stations. It also owns important assets for the storage and transport of fuels in Italy, including aviation fuel.

Last year, the company posted an adjusted operating profit of almost EUR 500 million. The planned deal would follow last year's sale of the Moratti family's controlling stake in the Saras group to Dutch global commodities trading company Vitol. These transactions highlight a broader trend that sees private investors withdrawing from Europe's increasingly volatile refining sector.

The Strategy

The acquisition would strengthen Socar Group's presence in the Mediterranean fuels market, a strategic move for the company that already owns a refinery in Turkey with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day.

Currently, Api gruppo IP owns a refinery in Ancona (in central Italy), as well as the Trecate refinery (in northern Italy) and the Rome depot. It also has a processing contract with the Alma refinery in Ravenna. In 2023, IP increased its refining and fuel storage capacity by finalising the acquisition of Exxon Mobil's Italian assets.

Once the reorganisation is signed, one of the variables remains governmental, since the operation will have to overcome the golden power stakes. Api is in fact active in a strategic sector .

However, relations between Italy and Azerbaijan are historically strong, especially in the energy field, where Italy is Azerbaijan's main trading partner for gas.