For OCTA+, this sale is a new step in its transition from multi-energy supplier to a supplier of all-in solutions and services for energy and (electro) mobility. To better meet the energy and mobility needs of tomorrow’s customers, OCTA+ will continue to invest in energy solutions and sustainable mobility in the coming years: in electricity, natural gas and fuel oil through OCTA+, in electromobility via Blue Corner and in mobility through the start-up Modalizy and the HybridCard fuel card.
Etienne Rigo, co-CEO of OCTA+: “We are extremely pleased that the OCTA+ gas stations are taken over by a company that has many similarities with us. Like OCTA+, MAES is a Belgian, family-owned company with the flexible structure of a SME. We are convinced that this acquisition will benefit all stations and its customers. ”
For MAES, the acquisition fits within its current expansion strategy: with a portfolio of 280 gas stations, MAES becomes one of the most important Belgian players after Total and Q8. In 2013, MAES already acquired about 40 gas stations from ESSO in the provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant. And recently MAES took over the stations of their competitor Desimpel Energy Group, which expanded the network with 19 stations in East and West Flanders.
Dirk Maes, co-CEO of MAES: “With the takeover of the OCTA+ gas stations, we are going to double our own network. At the same time, it is also a great opportunity for us not only to enlarge our portfolio in Flanders, but also to expand it to Brussels and Wallonia, where we do not have any stations today.”
OCTA+ Group was accompanied by BNP Paribas Fortis Corporate Finance, one of the leading Belgian M&A advisors and Baker&Mckenzie layers, in this strategic transaction.
MAES was assisted by Ernst & Young’s M & A Advisory and HVG advocaten-lawyers.
About OCTA +
The group was founded in 1881 and specializes since 1945 in the distribution of domestic fuel oil. Afterwards, the group also focused on the distribution of fuel with gas stations, first under the brand Becquevort and since 1995 under the brand name OCTA+. Since 2010 OCTA+ also commercializes electricity and natural gas. In recent years OCTA+ has evolved from a multi-energy supplier to a provider of all-in solutions in terms of energy and (electro) mobility. In the first place, OCTA+ continues to focus on the commercialization of electricity, natural gas and fuel oil to private and professional customers. In addition, OCTA+ is investing in electromobility through Blue Corner with the development of a network of public and private charging points, one of the conditions for more electric mobility. And through the start-up Modalizy, OCTA+ is strongly committed to multimodality: an
intelligent, flexible and sustainable mobility-as-a-service solution for the mobility problems of companies and the self-employed.
OCTA+ is a 100% Belgian company with stable family shareholders. In 2017, the consolidated turnover amounted to 510 million euros.
About MAES
MAES Energy & Mobility, a family business founded in 1965, is an expert in the field of energy and mobility with currently three core activities: a private network of 125 stations, a MAES fuel card and MAES Mobility Card and direct deliveries of fuels and lubricants to individuals and businesses. With the MAES fuel card you can now refuel at more than 1,700 stations in the Benelux. Besides, MAES offers every type of fuel. So in addition to diesel and petrol, there is LPG, CNG and electricity. MAES is also a specialist in AdBlue® (additive used in the new generation of diesel engines) that is supplied through many of its own gas stations but also in bulk or via the AdBlue® Proximity concept. The acquisition of the OCTA+ stations is the most recent step in which MAES becomes the largest independent player in Belgium in number of gas stations.
MAES is a 100% Belgian company with stable family shareholders. In 2017, the consolidated turnover amounted to 480 million euros.
