Swedish fuel supplier Preem may go up for sale

Swedish renewable and traditional fuel supplier Preem Holding AB could be put on the block as its parent company, Corral Petroleum Holdings AB, has launched a review of strategic options for its business.

The move comes at the initiative of Preem's ultimate owner, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, according to a statement released on Thursday.

CPH’s board will consider a possible sale of Preem taking into account the interest of all of the company’s shareholders, while also seeking to strengthen the financial position of the group as a whole, as well as the interest of the ultimate owner, to prepare for an orderly succession within the Al Amoudi family.

Preem claims to be the largest advanced biofuels producer and refiner in Sweden. It has two refineries, in Gothenburg and Lysekil, with a total capacity of more than 18 million cubic meters (635 million cu ft) per year, having a local market share of about 80%. The company targets 5 million cubic meters of renewable fuels by 2035 while also achieving climate neutrality across the entire value chain.

The business booked SEK 161 billion (USD 14.6bn/EUR 13.8bn) in sales and SEK 14.8 billion in operating profit in 2022. It had a total available liquidity of SEK 16 billion and a net leverage ratio of 0.3x as of the end of June 2023.

The Stockholm-based firm counts among its partners Swedish utility Vattenfall AB. The two are exploring the construction of a large-scale green hydrogen plant at Preem's Lysekil refinery on Sweden's west coast.

(SEK 10 = USD 0.910/EUR 0.861)

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