DIF Core Infrastructure Fund I (DIF) and SL Capital Infrastructure II SCSp (ASI) have acquired UNITANK from the family owners, with ASI and DIF each acquiring a 50 per cent stake.
The financial close follows on from the agreement signed on 27 February 2019 and upon receipt of the necessary merger clearance from the German competition authority.
UNITANK is a market leading independent and neutral infrastructure and services provider storing liquid oil products, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company owns and operates five terminals in Germany and one terminal in Belgium, all in key strategic locations. The terminals handle diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and heating oil and have a total storage capacity of circa. 1.1 million cubic meters. Servicing both strategic stockholding agencies with product storage as well as commercial clients with product throughput provides UNITANK with a stable and resilient business model.
The acquisition provides ASI and DIF with a strong and differentiated platform in the German liquid bulk storage and throughput market. Its flexible business model, high-quality and state-of-the-art asset base, and operational excellence positions the company well for the future. The consortium will continue to back the company’s long-term and successful strategy for the business.
Willem Jansonius – Partner and Head of Core Infrastructure at DIF, says: “We firmly believe in the strategy set by the current shareholder and management team. We are impressed with the commercial re-positioning of the business and its importance in providing essential services in its clients’ supply chains. We appreciate the well-invested asset base and the resulting high standards of operational excellence, which are essential to UNITANK’s current and future positioning.”
Dominic Helmsley, Head of Economic Infrastructure at Aberdeen Standard Investments, says: “We consider UNITANK to be a highly successful provider of storage capacity for strategic stockholding agencies and a key strategic partner for oil majors. We value the company’s historic growth and see significant future upside. Together with our partner DIF we look forward to working closely with UNITANK management in supporting the business and exploring further business opportunities.”
UNITAK owner Jan Westedt says: “Our family has run UNITANK for over two generations with a strategy emphasising close and trusted partnerships with our clients and employees, which were key elements of our success story. We are glad that DIF and ASI together with the management team will continue to pursue a long-term investment strategy centred on our philosophy and corporate culture.”
