Serbian energy company acquiring rubber manufacturer HIP Petrohemija

Brussels – Serbia’s multinational oil & gas company Naftna Industrija Srbije ad Novi Sad (NIS) has received the greenlight to acquire local petrochemicals and synthetic rubber supplier HIP-Petrohemija LLC Pancevo (HIPP).

In an announcement 20 Sept, the European Commission said it had approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of HIPP by the majority Gazprom-owned Serbian energy company.

The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns “given the companies' moderate combined market positions resulting from the proposed transaction.”

NIS announced plans to increase its ownership in HIP Petrohemija from 20.86% to 90% of shares in December last year.

At the time, the company said the deal came with the obligation of a €150-million monetary recapitalisation and the construction of a polypropylene production plant with a capacity of at least 140 kilotonnes per annum.

The strategy, it said, was to further develop HIP Petrohemija by modernising basic production capacities and building new plants as well as increasing energy efficiency and business efficiency.

Based near Zrenjanin, HIPP is a petrochemical company active in the production and distribution of products such as ethylene, polyethylene and synthetic rubber.

Operational since 1983, the company's Elemir site produces 45 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of 1.3-butadiene and 40ktpa of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR).

The company markets its emulsion SBR (E-SBR) products under the Hipren brand, which includes two types of series 1500 and one type of series 1700.