Bitumina placed into administration, Nynas eyes options

Swedish bitumen and base oils producer Nynas said today it is likely that "a new and suitable investor" in the firm will be found after UK-registered Bitumina Industries was put into administration.

Bitumina Industries bought Finnish firm Neste's 49.9pc stake in Swedish speciality products refiner Nynas in September last year. That was followed by Nynas legally and financially completing its reorganisation in December in the wake of US sanctions linked to a majority 50.1pc stake that had previously been held in Nynas by Venezuelan state-owned PdV.

Under a 30 June High Court order in London, Cameron Gunn and Lee Manning of ReSolve were appointed as Bitumina's administrators, with the move officially notified on 13 July.

While Bitumina Industries is confident it has financial measures in place to take it out of administration in a matter of weeks, Nynas president and chief executive Bo Askvik said today that "one probable scenario is that the administrators will find a new and suitable investor that will acquire the shares in Nynas AB owned by Bitumina Industries Ltd".

In an accompanying statement, Nynas said "No existing shareholder in Nynas has any pre-emption right to acquire the shares in Nynas AB owned by Bitumina Industries Ltd". The firm went on to note that "Nynas minority shareholder PdVSA's shareholding cannot exceed 15pc as established by the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control."

The PdV stake in Nynas was cut back to 15pc in May 2020, with the divested portion since held by an independent Swedish foundation.

Nynas, a leading European bitumen and base oils producer with speciality refineries in Sweden, Germany and the UK, has been looking to sharply ramp up bitumen production from this year onwards in a bid to recapture its previously strong market position.

With US sanctions on Venezuelan crude remaining in place, Nynas has switched its refinery feedstocks from the bitumen-rich crude to alternatives, including naphthenic crudes from the US and Brazil, as well as Russian straight-run fuel oil.

By Keyvan Hedvat