OMV Refining & Marketing GmbH has signed an agreement to sell its lubricants business to a subsidiary of Lukoil Group. OMV's lubricants division consists of a sales and distribution organization in Central and Eastern Europe as well as a modern lube blending plant in Austria. 74 employees across nine countries work in the lubricants business and their jobs will be retained.

The buyer will take over lubricants business in nine European countries, the blending plant in Austria and the "BIXXOL" brand name

This deal will not have an impact on the lubricants business of OMV's Turkish subsidiary Petrol Ofisi, whose business continues as part of the OMV Group.

"This transaction is the next step in the implementation of our strategy to optimize and simplify the Refining and Marketing portfolio", said Manfred Leitner, OMV Executive Board member responsible for Refining and Marketing.

OMV and its subsidiaries Petrol Ofisi and Petrom have already concluded several sales as part of the divestment program. Recently concluded transactions include the sale of the subsidiary in Croatia, OMV Hrvatska d.o.o., at the end of May 2013 and the sale of the subsidiary in Bosnia-Herzegovina, OMV BH d.o.o., in March 2013.

OMV's strategy aims to gradually shift the weight of the share in capital employed from Refining and Marketing to Exploration and Production.

The sale is expected to be closed end of 2013 following approval by the competition authorities; both companies have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

With Group sales of EUR 42.65 (US$55.5) billion and a workforce of around 29,000 employees in 2012, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is Austria's largest listed industrial company. In Exploration and Production, OMV is active in two core countries Romania and Austria and holds a balanced international portfolio. In Refining and Marketing, OMV has an annual refining capacity of 22 million tons and as of the end of 2012 approximately 4,400 filling stations in 13 countries including Turkey. OMV further strengthened its position through the ownership of a 97% stake in Petrol Ofisi, Turkey's leading company in the retail and commercial business.