Ludoil Energy signs agreement to acquire ISAB: Italy’s largest private Multi-Energy Company is born

Ludoil Capital S.r.l., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the holding company Ludoil Energy S.p.A., (“Ludoil” or the “Group”), has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (“SPA”) with GOI Energy S.r.l. for the acquisition of the latter’s stake in the share capital of ISAB S.r.l. (“ISAB”), a company that owns the Priolo Gargallo refinery and the industrial, logistics and energy infrastructure related to it. The transaction envisages a two-stage structure, the first of which relates to 51 percent of the shares and is subject, among other things, to the successful outcome of the notification procedure to be initiated before the Italian government pursuant to the legislation on special powers in the field of activities of national strategic importance (Decree Law 21/2012, so-called Golden Power), as well as to obtaining the applicable antitrust and regulatory authorizations.

The plant, located in the province of Syracuse, in the municipalities of Priolo Gargallo, Augusta and Melilli, is the largest refining complex in Italy, with an authorized capacity of 20 million tons per year and a balanced capacity of 15 million tons per year, and represents a strategic infrastructure for national energy security. With this transaction, an essential industrial asset for the country will return under an Italian leadership.

The acquisition marks the start of a new phase for ISAB, which will be transformed into an Energy Company, with an integrated portfolio ranging from crude oil processing to advanced bioenergy, configuring itself as a strategic hub for energy flows between Europe, Africa, America and the Middle East. It will be run according to a model based on the creation of shared value, so that ISAB strengthens its role in protecting supplies and continues to generate prosperity for the territory and the country.

In the medium term, the industrial focus will be on advanced bio-processing. The plan envisages the gradual introduction of new supply chains dedicated to the production of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), BioOil, second-generation bioethanol and BioETBE: an articulated set of renewable energy vectors in line with European decarbonization guidelines.

Investments will be structured in line with the requirements of the European RED III Directive, confirming the Group’s commitment to sustainability standards recognized in international markets. To complement the bio component, the site already has a 540 MW power and cogeneration plant and will be able to benefit from the construction of new renewable energy plants for an additional 20 MW. This trajectory is part of a broader path of evolution of the Priolo industrial district, which is already affected by significant investments in biorefining, helping to project the Syracuse area as a reference hub for the energy transition in the Mediterranean.

On the employment front, the current workforce will be fully preserved. ISAB represents a wealth of engineering expertise gained over decades of activity in Sicily, the historical heart of Italian refining and petrochemicals. It is a nationally recognized excellence, which Ludoil intends to enhance and project on an international scale. The growth plan and the planned new plants will also be able to generate additional employment opportunities for the area, including through synergies with the world of education and research.

The complementarity between Ludoil’s commercial and infrastructural capabilities and ISAB’s industrial expertise will enable vertical integration of the supply chain, from the supply phase to the downstream, and distribution. The Group’s endowment includes: coastal depots, logistics infrastructure, a network of refueling stations, and a diversified mix of generation plants from renewable sources, from biomethane to photovoltaics to wind power.

The deal will propel Ludoil into the role of Italy’s leading private Multi-Energy Company, with expected consolidated revenues in excess of €10 billion annually, placing the Group among the top Italian operators by revenue and among the leading players in the transformation of the national energy system.