Armo’s remaining 15% stake valued at USD 50 mln

TIRANA, March 1 – The Finance Ministry has decided to sell the remaining 15 percent of state owned shares in oil refinery ARMO after concluding its assessment process. The directorate of Administration and Sale of Public Property at the Finance Ministry says the remaining 15 percent shares in ARMO are valued at 5.1 billion lek or 50 million dollars. Five percent of the shares are owned by workers and land owners who can participate in the tendering process through privatization bonds.
ARMO is owned by a US and Swiss consortium headed by Anika Enterprise, a company controlled by Albanian businessman Rezart Taci which in 2008 bought 85 percent of state oil company ARMO for 128 million euros ($183 million).
The company which controls 25 to 30 percent of the country’s oil market has two refineries in Ballsh and Fier, one thermal power plant and some 1,600 employees.
“We have already consolidated our position as the oil industry leader in Albania, and, with the privatization of ARMO, we are the only vertically integrated group in the country. With a sales volume of more than $300 million and a dedicated team of about 1,600 people, we have plans to further expand and enlarge our activities. An ambitious investment plan worth $250 million will double our volumes and profits,” says CEO Rezart Taci.
Last November, Albanian oil refiner ARMO Company and Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company Bankers Petroleum signed a long-term cooperation agreement, which guarantees the supply of ARMO’s refineries with the gross oil that Bankers drags out from the underground of the territory of Albania.