BP announced this Monday the sale of 65% of its subsidiary Castrol to the infrastructure fund Stonepeak for 6.000 million dollars, equivalent to about 5.400 million euros at the current exchange rate.
After the closing of the transaction, Stonepeak will become the majority shareholder of Castrol, while BP will retain a minority stake of 35%. The oil company emphasizes that Castrol will continue operating as an autonomous company, with its own management team, governance structure and strategic roadmap. In addition, once a two-year lock-up period has elapsed, BP will have the possibility of also divesting that remaining 35%.
The amount of 6.000 million dollars corresponds to net income after taxes and, according to BP's CEO, Meg O'Neill, will be directed mainly to reducing debt and other financial obligations, in line with the priority objective of strengthening the company's balance sheet.
For her part, Castrol's CEO, Michelle Jou, has underlined that the company "begins the next stage of its journey from a position of true strength, with trusted brands, strong relationships with customers, talented colleagues and a clear growth strategy".
In this same direction, Jou has expressed her "excitement" at the new stage together with Stonepeak and has highlighted that the new board of directors will take advantage of "that momentum" to "unlock the full potential of Castrol and deliver greater value to our stakeholders".
BP has likewise highlighted that Castrol has "extensive experience and innovation capacity" that "span from advanced mobility solutions to data center cooling", and that from now on it "will have greater independence to accelerate its next phase of development".
Holdings in India, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Thailand
The agreement also includes minority holdings in different Castrol subsidiaries, mainly in India, where it owns 49%, in Vietnam with 35%, in Saudi Arabia with 50%, in Thailand with 40%, in addition to other positions in different jurisdictions.
Within the 6.000 million dollars associated with the transaction are included around 800 million dollars (721 million euros) linked to "the advance payment of the future dividend income in the short and medium term on the 35% stake that BP retains, together with other customary transaction adjustments".
BP will continue recording the retained interest in Castrol using the equity method and "does not expect to recognize profits or receive dividends in the short or medium term", given that Stonepeak will have priority in the distribution of distributions.