Dutch SHV Energy buys Bangladeshi Petromax

SHV Energy signed an $80 million agreement to enter the high-growth Bangladesh LPG market through the purchase of Petromax LPG and Petromax Cylinders.

The reported value of the purchase is estimated to be at least $80 million, according to market insiders.

The Netherlands-based company announced on its website that the agreement has already been signed. The closing is expected in the next few months and the formalities of the deal will be completed in that period.

Petromax LPG is one of the fastest-growing LPG companies in Bangladesh since it started its operations in 2018, the company said. Most of its volume is distributed to the domestic segment, which in Bangladesh uses 12 kg cylinders for cooking. Petromax also sells to commercial, industrial and autogas segments.

SHV Energy CEO, Bram Graber, said, “We are excited to be entering the Bangladesh market and look forward to contributing to the further development of Petromax and the LPG industry as a whole.”

“Bangladesh will be a key market for SHV Energy, with a growing population and an important opportunity to help in the transition to LPG as a cleaner energy alternative than the more polluting fuels that are still widely in use,” he said.

Petromax Managing Director Faridul Alam, said, “Carrying the proud legacy of our forty-year-old family business, we entered the LPG sector to explore business opportunities in the untapped market of Bangladesh.”

“We proudly built and scaled an LPG downstream and cylinder production business from the ground up, establishing a foothold in this competitive space within a short timeframe of only four years. I am excited to see SHV Energy grow our vision further to new heights, he added.

The Petromax head office is based in Dhaka. There are more than 600 employees between the two companies.

The cylinder manufacturing plant is located two hours outside of Dhaka, and was established to meet the growth of the LPG market.

In the last year it has branched out to supply cylinders to multiple LPG distributors in the country. There are two filling plants, in Mongla (in the south of Bangladesh) which also serves as a terminal for importing LPG, and one in Rupgone, an hour outside of Dhaka.

Petromax will continue to operate out of Dhaka with the current team maintaining the high levels of operational excellence and customer support.