WLGA Industry Council member Abastible starts operating in Spain and Portugal after €275 million acquisition

Takeover makes Chilean company one of world's top ten LPG distributors.

Following approval in October 2024 by the Spanish regulatory and European Commission anti-trust authorities, Abastible's parent company, Empresas Copec, informed the Chilean financial market regulator (CMF) that it had completed the €275.4 million purchase of the liquefied gas operations of Compañía Española de Petróleos S.A. (Cepsa) in Spain and Portugal.

“This is a major milestone for us, as it officially marks the start of Abastible's operations in Europe and is in line with our international expansion plan that began in 2011 in Colombia and continued in 2016 with our entry into the Peruvian and Ecuadorian markets. This move makes us one of the world's ten largest LPG companies." said Abastible's Corporate General Manager Joaquín Cruz.

The Chilean company will operate in Spain and Portugal (which began in December 2024) through Gasib, Spain's largest bottled liquefied gas distributor and the fifth largest player in Portugal. Abastible will now manage six storage and filling plants and two storage-only plants and will work with more than 200 distributors to supply the Iberian market, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, with sales of close to 240,000 tons annually.

“Our presence in Europe will not only allow us to grow in the liquefied gas business, strengthening our footprint with a fuel that is playing a key role in the energy transition, but it will also help us to innovate and launch new energy solutions in partnership with Cepsa.” Cruz said.

"In addition, this is a great opportunity for us to further promote our Corporate Purpose, which is to 'Empower the Entrepreneurial Spirit' as it will enable us to continue collaborating, through a virtuous business model, with the sustainable development of hundreds of distributors, installers, and SME transporters." the executive said.