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Carlyle to bid for Dutch Petroplus

The Carlyle Group is leading a bid to take Dutch oil refiner Petroplus off the stock market. The private equity firm is offering E247m for the company, which has indicated that it will recommend acceptance of the bid.

'The company's listing does not add value and constrains Petroplus in achieving its potential,' a spokesperson for the company revealed to the Financial Times.

'The benefits of a listing have decreased as a result of the perception by the public markets of an increase of Petroplus's risk profile,' said Petroplus, which recorded a loss of E900,000 in the first quarter of 2004. The company also cited a decrease in the liquidity of shares as a reason for going private and added that a decision to freeze acquisitions had reduced its need to tap capital markets.

Carlyle has made its offer in conjunction with RIVR Acquisition, a newly-established Dutch holding company controlled by a consortium of funds affiliated with Carlyle and including two Petroplus founding executive board members.

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