The Hera Group expands its footprint in Abruzzo with the purchase of 100% of Alento Gas, a gas sales company owned by the Municipality of Francavilla (51%) and French company GdfSuez Energie (49%).

Alento Gas, with an EBITDA of nearly €1 million in 2013, serves currently a total of approximately 13,000 customers throughout the city, for about 10 million m3 in gas sales per year. These customers are in addition to the over 2.1 million gas and electricity customers of the Hera Group.

A successful bid

Today, in the Municipality of Francavilla al Mare (Chieti), local officials opened publicly the binding bids submitted last 23 January 2015. Hera Comm Marche, a company of the Hera Group, was awarded temporarily the company, after it submitted its bid in a tender process that saw the participation of such national operators as Prometeo, Made in Energy and Uno gas.

The sale price of €5.526 million was offered on the basis of Alento Gas's operating performance, cash flows and net assets. 

Pursuant to the request for proposals, the Municipal Administration will verify that the necessary requirements have been fulfilled and, in case of positive outcome, will finalize the sale in the next 70 days. Subsequently, a share purchase agreement will be signed to complete the transaction.

Local presence

The acquisition will not entail any change in the sale and service structure. The Francavilla office will continue to serve the local community, together with the customer service office and the dedicated staff. 

Hera Comm Marche is a company of the Hera Group. It is a subsidiary of Hera Comm, which has a 57.4% equity interest, and has among its shareholders Marche Multiservizi (the multi-utility of the province of Pesaro-Urbino) and Walter Sadori, a storied operator in the Marche region. The company is active in Abruzzo and Marche, with over 110,000 customers, of whom 9,000 are in Abruzzo.

With the acquisition of Alento Gas, following that of Fucino Gas in December 2013, the Hera Group continues to grow along the Adriatic coast, firming up a presence involving partnerships with different local operators.

"The acquisition of Alento Gas is a milestone along the path pursued by the Hera Group, which aims to  expand its presence in the free gas and electric energy market in the Adriatic region, an area where the company has long been active", said Christian Fabbri, CEO of Hera Comm Marche. "Thanks to the customer portfolio acquired with Alento Gas, and the widespread presence of Hera Comm agencies, we are fully confident that we will be able to further enhance the role of post-sale service and the sale of additional services, thanks to the Hera Group's integrated offering".

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