OMV divests Italian subsidiary

OMV announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its Italian subsidiary, OMV Italia, to San Marco Petroli, a petroleum company for wholesale trading.
As a result of the transaction, San Marco Petroli will acquire Verona-based OMV Italia with a network of 99 filling stations in the Triveneto region (Northern Italy) and a workforce of 19 employees.

San Marco Petroli is one of the major suppliers of OMV Italia and will continue to operate its filling station network. The transaction is expected to close in early 2010. OMV and San Marco Petroli agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.
The divestiture allows OMV to pursue a growth strategy for its filling station business in the Danube region, South-Eastern Europe, and the Black Sea region. OMV has been active in Italy since 1991, solely in the filling station business. The first Italian OMV filling station was opened in Nalles (South Tirol).

With group sales of EUR 25.54 bn and a workforce of 41,282 employees in 2008, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria's largest listed industrial companies. As the leading energy group in the European growth belt, OMV is active in Refining and Marketing (R&M) in 13 countries. In Exploration and Production (E&P) OMV is active in 17 countries on 4 continents.
In Gas & Power (G&P), OMV sells approximately 13 bn cm gas per year. Via Baumgarten, one of the most important turntables for gas in Europe, approximately 66 bn cm of gas is transported annually. OMV's Central European Gas Hub is amongst the three largest hubs in Continental Europe.