On 14 February ESSO and EG Group, a company owned by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, business partner of ESSO in Europe, completed the sale and purchase of the fuel distribution business in Italy, consisting of 1,175 retail branded service stations; the transaction includes a long-term supply and trademark licence agreement for the ESSO fuel brand.

The transaction between ESSO and Euro Garages is just the final stage in Italy of a global project of reorganization of Exxon Mobil's business, started in 2009. Throughout the implementation of the project in Italy since 2012, Hogan Lovells assisted ESSO in the successful completion of 10 different M&A transactions for the transfer of more than 1690 branded service stations overall, located in all the Italian Regions, and in the execution of the ancillary supply and licence agreements.

Hogan Lovells has advised ESSO with a Corporate M&A team led by partner Antonio Di Pasquale, coordinated by senior associate Simone Cucurachi, and composed of senior associate Pierluigi Feliciani and trainees Niccolò Lavorano, Michele Lettieri and Anastasia Pallagrosi. Administrative and environmental law issues have been dealt with by partner Francesca Angeloni assisted by counsel Gaia Gelera and senior associate Emanuela Cocco, while a team led by partner Marco Berliri and coordinated by counsel Paola La Gumina has assisted on issues related to the supply and licence agreement.

In 2014 Hogan Lovells had also advised Kuwait Petroleum International on the acquisition of over 800 service stations from the Anglo-Dutch group Shell.