OREANDA-NEWS. JSOC Bashneft has completed the acquisition of a 100% stake in LLC AZS AKTAN, which owns a network comprising 17 filling stations in the Samara Region. The transaction value, including a deferred payment, totals 1.2 billion roubles.

'Bashneft's considerable expansion in the Samara Region is consistent with our strategy aimed at developing our own retail network in high-priority regions in geographical proximity to the Company's refining complex in Ufa,' commented Dmitry Panyukov, Bashneft's Vice President for Regional Sales. 'Efficient logistics for petroleum product transportation, premium location and a good technical condition of the filling stations to be acquired will enable the Company to eventually become one of the leaders in this region's fuel market.'

The network acquired by Bashneft includes some of the filling stations operated by Roza Mira Group, the largest independent operator in the retail market for motor fuel in the Samara Region. Most of the acquired filling stations are situated in Samara and its suburbs and along the М5 Ural federal highway.

Roza Mira Group has been cooperating with Bashneft since 2011 under a partner agreement through which it has sold fuel produced at the Company's refineries in Ufa. Currently, 13 out of the 17 acquired filling stations operate under the Bashneft brand name.

Before the acquisition of LLC AZS AKTAN, Bashneft had sold retail petroleum products in the Samara Region via three filling stations forming part of the OPTAN network acquired in 2014 and 41 filling stations owned by Bashneft's partners.

As of September 30, 2014, Bashneft's retail network comprised 565 own filling stations in 16 regions of Russia, and 220 partner filling stations in 9 regions of Russia.