Atlantico Capital Partners, LLC has advised Ecuadorian industrial conglomerate, Hispanogroup S.A. and its subsidiary Vepamil S.A. in its acquisition of the Eni Ecuador Group
Headquartered in Guayaquil, Hispanogroup is an industrial conglomerate with interests in fuel and lubricants distribution, used fuel recollection and recycling, and maritime shipping. Through Vepamil, Hispanogroup is one of the largest private players in Ecuador in the sale, distribution, and commercialization of fuels, including gasoline, diesel, gas, and other petroleum derivatives to industrial clients and fisheries.
Eni Ecuador, headquartered in Quito, is a vertically integrated group of companies engaged in the distribution of Liquified Petroleum Gas ( “LPG”) in Ecuador, and the second largest player within the industry. Among its activities, Eni Ecuador bottles and distributes LPG to residential and industrial markets, in addition to producing cylinders, valves, and regulators. Eni Ecuador is wholly owned by Eni international BV, and comprised by 3 subsidiaries: Esain S.A., Tecnoesa S.A. and Esacontrol S.A., owned by the listed Italian conglomerate Eni SpA (“Eni”). Eni operates as an integrated energy company worldwide, engaging in exploration, development, extracting, manufacturing, and marketing crude oil and natural gas, oil-based fuels, chemical products, and gas-fired power, as well as energy products from renewable sources.
The acquisition of Eni Ecuador is a horizontal integration for Hispanogroup and a perfect strategic fit that allows it to efficiently expand its fuel distribution business and gain operating scale by entering the residential market while capturing a meaningful market share. The acquired business generates peer-leading operating margins that benefit from midstream infrastructure ownership in bottling plants, a distribution fleet, and access to over 1,000 distributors.
Atlantico acted as financial advisor to Hispanogroup.