MRS Plc, which officially acquired 60 per cent stake in Texaco Nig. Plc in 2008, has extended its investment profile to the Benin Republic, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Congo and France.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Shardhashis Prasad, who disclosed this, stated that the acquisition of Chevron Nigeria enhanced MRS’ vision of spreading its tentacles across Nigeria’s borders.
Prasad said: “We are very pleased to acquire Chevron Nigeria Holdings (parent company of Texaco) and this demonstrates further our vision in investing into the future of the downstream oil businesses in West Africa.”
Already, the company, whose other equity holders include Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited with 19 per cent and remaining 21 per cent being owned by other shareholders, has commenced full operations in all the 625 Texaco retail outlets it acquired recently, as part of its plan to have a substantial stake in the country’s downstream sub-sector.
MRS Managing Director, who equally stated that the company was currently re-branding the 625 retail outlets and some tankers acquired from Texaco, said that key management employees of the company had started repositioning the retail outlets to take advantage of the new investment opportunities brought about by the reforms in the sub-sector.
While stating that MRS would continue to acquire more retail outlets from the independent marketers and also build more, Prasad said that the essence of the expansion was to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply to Nigerians and also to position the company for healthy competition whenever the sector was deregulated.
He noted: “Currently, the company is simultaneously de-branding and re-branding the newly acquired Texaco filling stations, with about 157 filling stations already operating under the MRS logo.
“We understand the effectiveness and efficiency of petroleum products distribution in the country. We are going through repositioning to render best quality services,” he added.
According to him, the group was focusing on improving operational efficiency and reducing costs across all businesses, including trading, shipping and marketing.