DLA Piper has assisted ERG S.p.A. and Total Marketing Services S.A. in the sale of 100% of the shares of TotalErg S.p.A., the 51:49 joint venture created in 2010 between ERG and Total, active in the distribution of petroleum products in Italy.

The sellers have signed a binding agreement with the Api Group, which will become the first Italian operator with more than 5,000 service stations across the country.

The transaction, expected to close in January 2018, is subject to the approval by the Italian antitrust authority and to the completion of the demerger of the going concern owned by TotalErg and represented by the lubricants business in favour of Total Italia S.r.l.

The sale completes a broader sale process started in 2016, and represented by the sale by TotalErg to the fund Ambienta SGR S.p.A. and to Aber S.r.l. of its subsidiary Restiani S.p.A. operating in the heating services sector (closed 10 August 2017) and by the sale to the UGI group of the subsidiary Totalgaz Italia S.r.l. operating in the LPG business (closed 5 October 2017). The deal further provides for the demerger and subsequent sale to Total of the lubricants business owned by TotalErg S.p.A.

The DLA Piper team was led by Senior Partner and Global Energy Co-Chair, Francesco Novelli who was closely supported by the Corporate partner, Giulio Maroncelli and Lawyer, Fabio Lenzini.

A large team from across the DLA Piper Italian practice advised on the transaction. The Rome-based team comprised of Employment partner Giampiero Falasca and lawyer Maria Luisa Buscaini, Corporate lawyer Roberta Padula, Real Estate partner Francesco De Blasio and lawyers Francesco Calabria and Massimo Schirinzi. They were supported by Litigation & Regulatory partner Domenico Gullo and lawyer Matteo Bozzo, Tax partner Andrea Di Dio, and a Finance & Projects team consisting of partner Giovanni Ragnoni Bosco Lucarelli, lawyer Gianfranco Giorgio and counsel Danilo Quattrocchi.