The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) could by all or part of Geneva-based commodity trader Gunvor Group, Bloomberg has reported.
Early talks are underway for ADNOC to combine Gunvor with its own trading platform, sources said, adding any deal “could still take months” or may not happen at all.
It’s not clear how much Gunvor would be valued at, if a transaction were to go ahead. The company’s accounts valued its equity at just over $4 billion at the end of June, while it reported record profit of $841 million for the half year.
Adnoc has been expanding its trading unit in recent years to take advantage of its position as a major producer of oil, natural gas and refined products.
Adnoc Chief Executive Officer Sultan Al Jaber led the company in setting up units to buy and sell energy, and listed the emirate’s benchmark crude grade, Murban, on an exchange.
Gunvor was founded in 2000 by Tornqvist and Gennady Timchenko and grew rapidly in the mid-2000s as a major trader of Russian oil.
Gunvor has expanded globally and, although it holds a minority stake in a Russian oil terminal, says it now has “no material exposure to Russia.”
*With Bloomberg
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