Saras, which manages Sarroch's Sardinian refinery, experienced a historic turning point. After 62 years in charge of what was once one of Europe's greatest refineries, the Moratti family has sold 35% of its stock to the Swiss-Dutch oil giant Vitol. The deal between Moratti and Vitol was finalized for 1.75 euros per share, which is significantly more than the average of the previous twelve months, when the stock was trading below 1.5 euros. Saras' valuation is estimated to be around €1.7 billion, with a collection of around €595 million for reference shareholders. Vitol will subsequently launch a required takeover attempt for the remaining capital, with the goal of delisting the stock from Piazza Affari. "Together with my nephews Angelo and Gabriele and my sons Angelomario and Giovanni, I believed that the best guarantee for the future success of the Sarroch refinery was the aggregation with a leading industrial operator in the global energy sector such as Vitol," said Massimo Moratti, chairman and CEO, who pointed out that the Swiss-Dutch company has been "endowed with relational resources, necessary to compete in the current international market environment." Saras was founded on Angelo Moratti's insight, who chose in 1962 to put its oil field skills to good use by constructing the Sarroch refinery, a few kilometers from Cagliari, which quickly came to cover a quarter of Italian production.
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