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Rubis: The Quiet French Energy Empire
In the sprawling world of global energy giants—where names like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies command headlines and move markets—there exists a company that has quietly built one of the most profitable downstream empires in the world. Rubis, a French partnership listed on Euronext Paris, operates in over 40 countries, dominates fuel distribution across the Caribbean and Africa, and generates billions in revenue while paying a dividend that has grown for 29 consecutive years.
This is not a household name. When you fill up at a service station in Jamaica, Kenya, or Barbados, you may not realize the fuel comes from a company headquartered in an elegant Parisian arrondissement. Rubis is a France-based international company specialized in the storage, distribution and sale of petroleum, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), food and chemical products. Yet its business model—buying unwanted downstream assets from oil majors at distressed prices, then running them profitably in markets others have abandoned—represents one of the most successful M&A rollup strategies in the energy sector.
The company's business model allows it, to a significant extent, to mitigate any commodity price volatility and maintain relatively stable gross margins through cycles. As a result, Rubis has seen positive CAGRs across its key financial metrics over the last 15 years and has also enjoyed 29 years of consecutive dividend growth.
How did a small French investment company founded in 1990 become this? That is the story we will tell.
The Founders & Founding Story: Creating the DNA (1990–1994)
The Entrepreneur and His Vision
Picture Paris in 1990. The Berlin Wall had just fallen. France was experiencing an economic restructuring as state-owned companies privatized and conglomerates shed non-core assets. In 1990, Gilles Gobin founded Rubis Investment & Cie.
Gobin, a French entrepreneur with a background in finance, saw opportunity where others saw complexity. The European energy sector was fragmenting. Major oil companies, refocusing on upstream exploration and production, increasingly viewed downstream distribution—the gas stations, storage terminals, and logistics networks—as low-margin distractions. Gobin believed these assets, properly managed and consolidated, could generate exceptional returns.
Rubis Investment & Cie was created in 1990 by Gilles Gobin. He was joined the same year by Bruno Krief and Jacques Riou, respectively as financial director and managing partner. The trio formed the nucleus of what would become one of Europe's most successful energy rollups.
Jacques Riou, a co-founder of Rubis along with Gilles Gobin, brought complementary skills. The partnership between Gobin and Riou would prove remarkably durable, spanning more than three decades of joint leadership. Their management philosophy emphasized decentralization, entrepreneurial initiative, and a relentless focus on cash flow generation.
The SCA Structure: Engineering Control from Day One
From the beginning, Gobin and Riou made a critical governance decision that would shape Rubis's trajectory. They structured the company as a Société en Commandite par Actions (SCA)—a partnership limited by shares. The company is a partnership limited by shares (SCA) and is run by a management board consisting of four managing partners. SCA offers a structured way for the founders to combine the benefits of a partnership with access to the capital of a publicly limited company, therefore offering a blend of control, flexibility and investor participation.
This structure is rare in publicly traded companies because it concentrates power with the general partners (gérants commandités) rather than dispersing it among shareholders. Under the SCA framework, Gobin and Riou, through their family holding companies, maintain effective control over corporate strategy while accessing public market capital for acquisitions. All Managing Partners other than Agena are General Partners and as such have unlimited joint and several liability from their personal assets for Rubis' debts. This feature, which results from the legal form of Partnership Limited by Shares under which the Company is constituted, provides shareholders with the guarantee of extreme care in the management and administration of the Company.
The SCA structure has both advantages and risks for investors. On one hand, it aligned management's interests with shareholders—the founders had their personal fortunes on the line. On the other hand, it limited external shareholders' ability to influence strategy or force changes. This would later become a point of tension with activist shareholders.
The First Transformational Deal
The strategy crystallized in 1993. In April 1993 it acquired the hydrocarbons and chemicals storage company Compagnie Parisienne des Asphaltes (CPA), one of the leaders operators in the French market, which was later renamed Rubis Terminal.
What made this acquisition remarkable was not just its strategic fit, but its pedigree. In 1991, the company acquired the Compagnie de Penhoët, a holding company of the Suez galaxy, for 1.3 billion francs, and became Rubis & Cie. Two years later, Rubis & Cie purchased 230 million francs of stakes in the Compagnie Parisienne des Asphaltes (often designated by the acronym CPA), one of the first independent French operators of hydrocarbon and chemical storage, founded in 1877.
CPA had been operating for over a century—its roots stretched back to the Third Republic. The acquisition gave Rubis immediate scale in industrial storage, plus terminal assets in strategic French locations including Rouen and Dunkirk. More importantly, it established a template: acquire proven, cash-generating infrastructure assets at reasonable valuations, then optimize operations through tight management.
Adding Distribution: The Vitogaz Acquisition
The second pillar came quickly. In August 1994, it took control of the LPG distributor Vitogaz. Founded in 1939, Vitogaz specialized in butane and propane distribution—the cooking and heating fuels essential to French households and businesses.
This acquisition was transformative in a different way. Storage (Rubis Terminal) and distribution (Vitogaz) represented two sides of the energy midstream equation. Storage generates fees from volume throughput, with revenues tied to capacity utilization. Distribution earns margins on the spread between wholesale procurement and retail sales, with customer relationships driving loyalty and pricing power. Together, they created natural synergies: Rubis could store products for third parties while also managing its own distribution supply chain.
By 1994, the DNA of Rubis was established: Storage + Distribution, two complementary pillars, combined under a capital-efficient structure with founder-aligned management. The company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange in 1995, providing the currency for what would become an extraordinary acquisition spree.
Building the French Base & First International Steps (1995–2009)
Consolidating the Home Market
The late 1990s and early 2000s represented a period of domestic consolidation. Rubis systematically expanded its French footprint through targeted acquisitions. In October 2001, while continuing its international expansion, Rubis purchased oil-storing subsidiary Pétrofrance's Propétrol. This added terminal capacity in Strasbourg, Salaise-sur-Sanne, Villeneuve-la-Garenne, and Village-Neuf—expanding the geographic reach of the storage network.
In 2002, CPA was formally renamed Rubis Terminal, creating brand clarity. In 2004, Rubis was admitted to the benchmark indices: CAC Mid 100, CAC Mid and Small 190 and SBF 250. The company had arrived as a recognized player in French capital markets.
The Shell Acquisition That Changed Everything
The breakthrough came in 2005. In 2005, it purchased Shell's distributor of LPG and petroleum products in the West Indies and in French Guiana, SAGF, at a cost of 116 million euros. During the next years, it continued the acquisition of other Shell's operations in Europe, Africa and America.
This was the first major international acquisition, and it established a pattern that would define Rubis's growth strategy. Shell, like other oil majors, was retreating from downstream distribution in smaller, more complex markets. The West Indies—Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana—represented exactly the kind of geography that majors found troublesome: fragmented markets, logistics complexity, regulatory nuances. For Rubis, these were features, not bugs.
Why were these assets available? The oil majors faced structural pressures to redeploy capital toward high-return upstream investments. Downstream distribution generated stable but modest returns—perhaps 10-15% ROCE in developed markets, slightly higher in emerging markets. For a company like Shell with trillion-dollar upstream opportunities, maintaining service station networks in Guadeloupe represented an inefficient use of management attention.
Rubis had different economics. As a focused downstream operator, it could achieve better returns through scale economies in procurement, tighter cost control, and patient optimization of retail networks. The €116 million investment in SAGF would prove extraordinarily accretive.
The BP Partnership and the Playbook Emerges
In October 2006, Rubis and BP formed Frangaz, a 50:50 joint venture, to distribute liquified petroleum gas fuel in France. In 2010, Rubis acquired the 50 percent of BP in Frangaz.
The Frangaz partnership illustrated another dimension of the Rubis playbook: using joint ventures as stepping stones to full ownership. BP, facing its own strategic reorientation, found it attractive to monetize French LPG distribution through a JV. For Rubis, the partnership provided operational learning and market access. Four years later, when the opportunity arose to buy out BP's stake, Rubis had the knowledge and confidence to move quickly.
During this period, Vitogaz expanded across Europe. The same year, Vitogaz France acquired Shell's activities in Spain and Switzerland (as well as Germany, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, since divested), then those in Jersey and Guernsey in 2008.
A Coherent Playbook
By 2009, Rubis had developed a coherent acquisition methodology:
- Target unwanted downstream assets from oil majors undergoing strategic refocusing
- Pay reasonable valuations reflecting the majors' eagerness to exit
- Achieve synergies through centralized procurement and regional scale
- Maintain decentralized operations with local management empowered to respond to market conditions
- Generate cash flow for deleveraging and further acquisitions
Rubis is market leader in France, Switzerland, Bermuda, Jamaica, Madagascar, Morocco, French Antilles-Guiana, Senegal the Channel Islands and Kenya. The geographic footprint was expanding, but always with discipline—entering markets where Rubis could achieve dominant positions rather than spreading resources thin.
The Caribbean & Africa Expansion (2010–2018)
The Chevron Deals: Establishing Caribbean Dominance
2010 marked the beginning of an aggressive Caribbean expansion. That same year, it purchased the activities of Chevron in the Caribbean. During the next years it also acquired the downstream operations of the company in the region.
On April 1, 2011, RUBIS acquired the assets owned and operated by Chevron under the Texaco brand in the Eastern Caribbean. The acquisition solidified our competitive position in the regional downstream business in the Eastern Caribbean. Today our EC operations includes Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and Suriname.
The Chevron acquisition transformed Rubis from a French company with Caribbean outposts into a Caribbean powerhouse with French roots. Further acquisitions during 2012 included the Chevron assets in The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Why was Chevron selling? The Texaco brand, which Chevron had inherited through its 2001 merger with Texaco Inc., came with far-flung assets that no longer fit the combined company's strategic focus. Small island markets with complex logistics and relatively low volumes made little sense for a company focused on deepwater Gulf of Mexico production and Permian Basin shale.
For Rubis, these markets were ideal. Island nations have limited alternatives for fuel supply. Whoever controls the storage terminals and import logistics possesses natural competitive advantages. Rubis systematically built this infrastructure across the Caribbean, creating barriers to entry that competitors would struggle to overcome.
Jamaica: Ending Shell's 90-Year Reign
One acquisition deserves particular attention. In Jamaica, Rubis acquired the assets of Shell in January 2013 ending its 90-year dominance there.
Rubis has completed the acquisition of Blue Equity's fuels distribution business in Jamaica. Blue Equity's portfolio company, The Antilles Group Limited (TAG), supplies a network of 53 service stations currently operating under the Shell brand (the original shareholder), and has a broad customer base in the commercial and industrial sectors. With 200,000 cubic meters of fuels distributed in the retail network, representing approximately 30% market share, and about 70,000 cubic meters in the commercial and industrial sectors, the company remains the undisputed leader in the downstream petroleum products business on the Island.
Shell had operated in Jamaica since the 1920s. Its departure—like those of Chevron and BP elsewhere—reflected the majors' strategic retreat from downstream distribution in smaller markets. Rubis inherited not just assets but customer relationships, brand equity, and market knowledge accumulated over nearly a century.
Africa Entry: Southern and North Africa
While Caribbean expansion accelerated, Rubis also moved into Africa. On 16 November 2010, it took control of BP operations in Spain and sealed a long-term agreement with that company.
Acquisition of a distribution network in the Caribbean from Chevron and first RUBiS service stations in the Channel Islands. Acquisition of Easigas, a leading LPG distributor in Southern Africa.
The Easigas acquisition gave Rubis entry to the Southern African LPG market. In January 2012, it acquired a 50 percent stake in the Turkish company Delta Petrol.
Africa represented a longer-term strategic bet. The continent's demographics—young populations, rapid urbanization, growing middle classes—suggested sustained growth in energy demand. Infrastructure remained underdeveloped, meaning early entrants could establish dominant positions. Rubis positioned itself for this growth, though the transformational African acquisition would come later.
The Bitumen Business
In 2015, Rubis expanded into a new product category with the acquisition of Eres, specializing in bitumen distribution. Bitumen—the heavy petroleum product used in road construction—represents a different business than LPG or transport fuels. Demand is driven by infrastructure investment rather than consumer behavior, creating exposure to government spending cycles.
The Eres acquisition exemplified Rubis's opportunistic approach. The company sought asset categories where it could achieve dominant positions, regardless of product type. Bitumen distribution requires specialized logistics (heated tankers, storage tanks), creating barriers to entry similar to those in LPG.
By 2018, Rubis had transformed from a French storage company into an international energy distributor with dominant positions across the Caribbean and growing presence in Africa and Europe. The company's logistics base in the Caribbean alone comprised over nine import storage terminals and more than 200 retail service stations.
Key Inflection Point #1: The KenolKobil Acquisition (2018–2019)
The Prize: East Africa's Champion
The KenolKobil acquisition represented Rubis's boldest move yet—and its transformation into a true African powerhouse.
KenolKobil Plc is a pan African downstream oil company. The group's operations span seven countries across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa and encompass the supply, storage, distribution and retail of a wide range of petroleum products. Headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya with subsidiaries in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.
KenolKobil was not a distressed asset from an exiting major—it was an indigenous African champion with deep roots. KenolKobil, then Kenya Oil Company Limited (abbreviated Kenol), was founded on May 13, 1959, by R S Alexander as a Private limited company. The Company started its operations as a wholesaler of packaged Kerosene under the brand name "SAFI". The company later began investing in service stations. In September 1959, Kenya Oil Company listed its shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange making it the first petroleum company to be quoted on the exchange.
A Failed Prior Attempt
In May 2012, KenolKobil received a US$800 million takeover bid from Puma Energy, a subsidiary of Swiss Based Trafigura. However Puma Energy later terminated its bid to acquire the group.
Puma Energy's failed attempt—at a significantly higher valuation than Rubis would ultimately pay—illustrated both KenolKobil's strategic value and the challenges of executing in African markets. Six years later, Rubis succeeded where Puma had failed.
Rubis Makes Its Move
The acquisition unfolded in stages. The French firm already owns a 25 per cent stake in KenolKobil (367.8 million shares), which it bought from Wells Petroleum in October 2018 at Sh15.30 per share for a total of Sh5.63 billion ahead of making the takeover bid.
By acquiring a toehold stake first, Rubis established its presence and signaled serious intent. Then came the formal offer. On 20 December 2018, the French petroleum products distributor proposed to purchase all the voting shares of KenolKobil Plc not already owned by it at an offer price of Ksh23.00.
"Rubis Énergie SAS considers that KenolKobil Plc's shareholders will find the offer price of 23 shillings per share very attractive as it represents a 53.4 percent premium to the volume weighted average price at which KenolKobil Plc shares traded over the 30 trading days."
Closing the Deal
In 2019, Rubis completed its full acquisition of KenolKobil and the company rebranded to Rubis Energy Kenya.
RUBiS Energy Kenya has officially launched in Kenya after it successfully acquired Kenol Kobil Plc for Sh. 35 billion and Gulf Energy Holdings for an undisclosed amount in March and December 2019 respectively. This acquisition saw RUBiS garner a market share of 21% and equipping it with 230 service stations countrywide.
The combined acquisitions made Rubis the market leader in Kenya. After the acquisition, Rubis market share as of December last year went up to 21 per cent in comparison to the then market leader, Total, which had 16.4 per cent followed by Vivo (16.2 per cent).
Strategic Significance
The KenolKobil deal transformed Rubis's African position in several ways:
- Scale: From marginal African presence to market leadership in East Africa's largest economy
- Platform: Established beachhead for regional expansion across seven countries
- Capabilities: Acquired aviation fuel expertise—KenolKobil controlled ~70% of jet fuel sales at Kenya's major airports
- Integration: Created synergies with existing Southern African operations
In March 2019, the company acquired the assets owned and operated by KenolKobil PLC, and later Gulf Energy Holdings in November 2019. The acquisitions meant that Rubis becomes a formidable competitor in the regional downstream business.
The rebranding investment was substantial—All Kenol, Kobil and Gulf service stations are expected to be rebranded to RUBiS by the end of 2022 with an approximate cost of Sh. 2.5 billion.
For investors, KenolKobil demonstrated Rubis's ability to execute large, complex transactions in challenging jurisdictions while maintaining financial discipline. The deal was financed primarily from internal resources, minimizing dilution.
Key Inflection Point #2: The Rubis Terminal JV & Exit (2020–2024)
A Strategic Shift
By 2020, Rubis faced a strategic question: should it continue operating both storage (Rubis Terminal) and distribution (Rubis Énergie), or focus resources on higher-growth opportunities?
The answer came in early 2020. Rubis structured Rubis Terminal into a JV with I Squared (45% holding) in 2020 to implement a strategy of product diversification and geographic expansion, creating significant value for the company.
I Squared Capital, a global infrastructure investment firm, brought capital and infrastructure expertise. The JV structure allowed Rubis to crystallize value from Terminal while retaining majority control and strategic optionality.
Value Creation Within the JV
The partnership proved productive. Under joint ownership, Rubis Terminal expanded and diversified. The acquisition of Tepsa, a leading storage operator in Spain particularly strong in biofuels, enhanced the portfolio. By the time of exit, Rubis Terminal is among the leading players in Europe in the bulk liquid storage sector with 4.0 million cubic meters storage capacity across France, Spain, and the Northern Europe hubs of Antwerp and Rotterdam.
The Full Exit
In March 2024, Rubis announced the logical conclusion of this strategy. Rubis today announces it has entered into exclusive negotiations with I Squared Capital for the sale of its 55% stake in Rubis Terminal.
Net selling price for the 55% stake held by Rubis would amount to €375m to be received through a €125m cash consideration at closing, followed by three equal instalments over the next three years. The transaction value implies a c. 11x multiple of June 2023 last-twelve-month EBITDA. The estimated €75 million capital gain generated from the sale would be fully returned to shareholders through an exceptional dividend payment of €0.75 per share to take place after closing. The remainder of the proceeds would be dedicated to the acceleration of the energy transition process across all Group operations.
Following the final agreement signed on 10 April 2024, Rubis has completed on 16 October 2024 the sale of its 55% stake in the Rubis Terminal JV (now branded Tepsa) to I Squared Capital.
Strategic Rationale
Why exit? Several factors drove the decision:
- Capital efficiency: Storage is capital-intensive with modest returns; distribution offers higher ROIC
- Focus: Management attention concentrated on growth markets in Africa and Caribbean
- Energy transition: Proceeds earmarked for renewable investments
- Value crystallization: The JV structure had unlocked value that full exit would realize
The transaction marked the end of an era—Rubis Terminal, born from the 1877-founded CPA, was no longer part of the group. But it also marked a strategic clarification: Rubis was now primarily an energy distributor with a growing renewable business, not a diversified storage and distribution conglomerate.
Key Inflection Point #3: The Photosol Acquisition & Renewable Pivot (2021–2022)
Context: The Energy Transition Imperative
By 2021, every energy company faced the same question: how to position for decarbonization? For traditional oil and gas distributors, the energy transition represented both existential threat and growth opportunity. Rubis's response was characteristically pragmatic—acquire a proven renewable platform rather than build from scratch.
The Deal
The acquisition, expected to close by the end of Q1 2022, will see Rubis purchase 80% of Photosol for €376 million (US$425 million), while the remaining 20% will be owned by the company's founders and managers.
Rubis entered the renewable electricity business with the acquisition of Photosol in 2022, paying €385m via debt for an 80% stake (EV of €747m), with the founders and management retaining the remaining 20%.
What Photosol Brings
It is one of the independent leaders in photovoltaic (PV) electricity production in France. Photosol operates through the whole value chain, from the development of projects to dismantling, including design, financing, operation and maintenance. It specialises in large ground-mounted or shade-type installations (87 large ground-mounted photovoltaic parks at end 2024), with particular expertise in agrivoltaics.
Founded in 2008, Photosol had spent 14 years building capabilities in large-scale solar development—exactly the kind of operational expertise that cannot be acquired quickly. For Rubis, purchasing Photosol meant buying a team, a pipeline, and a track record rather than starting from zero.
Growth Since Acquisition
Since then, the company grew its installed capacity from 330MW in March 2022 to 535MW in March 2025 and capacity under construction from 145MW to 337MW, respectively.
In 2024, Photosol produced 460GWh of electricity, generating €49m in revenues and €36m in power EBITDA (€26m on a consolidated basis).
The growth trajectory is accelerating. Photosol recently won a substantial award from France's energy regulatory commission, including a 200-megawatt peak solar park at the former Creil air base near Paris. International expansion has begun, with projects under development in Spain totaling 300 megawatts peak.
Leadership and Family Succession
The Photosol acquisition also highlighted emerging leadership succession at Rubis. Ms Gobin-Swiecznik joined Rubis in 2011 within the Rubis Terminal business (divested in 2024). In 2017, she joined Rubis Énergie as director of development and projects. She joined the holding company (Rubis SCA) in 2020 as managing director in charge of New Energies, CSR and group communication and led the acquisition of Photosol in 2022.
Clarisse Gobin-Swiecznik, daughter of founder Gilles Gobin, has emerged as the key driver of Rubis's energy transition strategy. Her role in executing the Photosol deal and overseeing the renewable division positions her as a potential future leader of the group.
Hydrogen Investments
Beyond solar, Rubis has invested in hydrogen through HDF Energy. In addition, Rubis holds a 17.2% stake in HDF Energy, an international group specializing in the development of hydrogen-electricity plant projects.
"The Renewstable Barbados project is under joint development by HDF Energy and Rubis as an innovative carbon-free baseload solution for Barbados, that is fully aligned with the island nation's desire to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. We are extremely pleased with the involvement of IFC and IDB Invest, supporting the development of this industrial-scale green hydrogen power plant."
The Renewstable Barbados project—a 50MW solar facility with green hydrogen storage—represents an ambitious integration of Rubis's Caribbean presence with cutting-edge clean energy technology.
The Business Model Deep Dive
Current Structure
Rubis operates across two main verticals: Energy distribution, which consists of the Retail & Marketing and Support & Services (logistics and trading) divisions, and the Renewable electricity business (Photosol).
It is involved in the bulk liquid storage of fuels, biofuels, chemicals, and agrifood products; and retails and distributes fuels, heating oils, lubricants, liquefied gases, and bitumen, as well as provides logistics services comprising trading-supply, refining, and shipping activities. The company also engages in the production of photovoltaic electricity; provision of car wash services; and operation of convenience stores and quick-service restaurants across various service stations operated under the RUBiS and ViTO brands. It serves transportation, infrastructure, hotel, aviation, marine, and public works sectors.
The energy distribution segment is the backbone of the company's operations and has historically dominated its financial performance, contributing 99% of revenues and 97% of EBITDA in 2024.
Geographic Mix
Geographically, the company derives maximum revenue from the Caribbean followed by Africa and Europe.
The geographic distribution reflects deliberate strategic choices:
- Caribbean (49% of sales): Mature, cash-generative markets with dominant positions
- Africa (38% of sales): Higher growth but more volatile; Kenya represents the largest single market
- Europe (13% of sales): Stable LPG business, primarily France, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal
The Margin Stability Model
The company's business model allows it, to a significant extent, to mitigate any commodity price volatility and maintain relatively stable gross margins through cycles.
How does Rubis achieve margin stability when oil prices fluctuate wildly? Several mechanisms work together:
- Pass-through pricing: In most markets, Rubis operates under price formulas that pass commodity costs to customers
- Regulated markets: The SARA refinery in Martinique operates under a decree guaranteeing 9% return on equity
- LPG characteristics: LPG pricing is less volatile than liquid fuels, and customer switching costs are higher
- Geographic diversification: Weakness in one region is often offset by strength elsewhere
The company also owns 71% of the SARA refinery, which is located in Martinique and exclusively supplies fuel to the three French departments in the Caribbean region. It has capacity of 800ktpa and produces a full range of products complying with European environmental standards. Retail prices for SARA's products and its profitability are regulated by the public authorities through a decree that guarantees a 9% return on equity.
The SCA Governance Model
The Company is managed by the Management Board, which comprises six Managing Partners: Gilles Gobin, Sorgema (co-managed by Gilles Gobin and Clarisse Gobin-Swiecznik), GR Partenaires and Agena (whose Chairman is Jacques Riou), Jean-Christian Bergeron and Marc Jacquot.
The governance structure has evolved to incorporate next-generation leadership. Gilles Gobin and Jacques Riou intend to step down from their positions on the Management Board following the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting to approve the accounts for the 2026 financial year, to be held in 2027.
Jean-Christian Bergeron has 34 years of experience in the oil industry. He spent 28 years at TotalEnergies, where he held responsibilities in France and internationally. He held several strategic positions, notably as Network Director within the Marketing and Services branch, and in M&A operations in Africa and Saudi Arabia. He also held operational management responsibilities in France, Pakistan, and Cameroon, and served as Operational Director for Central and East Africa. Jean-Christian Bergeron joined the Rubis Group in 2019 as CEO for East Africa, where he oversaw Rubis Énergie subsidiaries in seven countries.
The succession plan appears well-executed—both internal promotions (Bergeron, Jacquot) and family continuity (Gobin-Swiecznik) are represented.
Porter's Five Forces & Competitive Position
Threat of New Entrants: LOW
Barriers to entry in downstream energy distribution are substantial:
- Capital requirements: Building storage terminals and distribution networks requires significant upfront investment
- Regulatory barriers: Fuel distribution requires licenses, environmental permits, and compliance with safety regulations
- Established relationships: Decades-long customer relationships provide switching cost advantages
- Economies of scale: Regional scale in shipping and supply chain reduces unit costs
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: MODERATE
Rubis sources refined products from major oil companies globally. While this creates supplier dependency, several factors mitigate the risk:
- Multiple sourcing options: Rubis can procure from various refineries worldwide
- Vertical integration: The SARA refinery provides captive supply for Caribbean operations
- Support & Services segment: Own shipping fleet and trading capability reduce reliance on third parties
Bargaining Power of Buyers: LOW-MODERATE
- Fragmented customer base: Mix of retail consumers, SMEs, aviation, marine, and commercial/industrial
- Essential products: Fuel and LPG are necessities with relatively inelastic demand
- Limited alternatives: In island markets especially, few alternatives exist
Threat of Substitutes: MODERATE (but growing)
- Electric vehicles: Long-term threat to transport fuel demand, though adoption rates vary dramatically by geography
- Renewable energy: Growing but from small base in Rubis's markets
- LNG: Could displace LPG in some applications
- Mitigation: Photosol acquisition and hydrogen investments address this risk
Competitive Rivalry: MODERATE
Competition: the company is in the top three in most countries across all market segments and is the market leader in bitumen distribution. Its main regional competitors are Puma Energy (Trafigura), TotalEnergies and Vivo Energy.
French oil major Rubis has overtaken TotalEnergies Marketing to become the second biggest oil marketer in Kenya based on market share. New official data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows that the market share of Rubis rose to 15.56 percent as of June this year. TotalEnergies slipped to the third place with a share of 15.06 percent. Vivo Energy, the retailer of the Shell branded petroleum products, cemented its dominance as its share stagnated at 22.24 percent.
Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers Analysis
Scale Economies: Rubis benefits from regional scale in procurement and logistics, though these advantages are moderate rather than transformative.
Network Effects: Limited—fuel distribution is not a network effects business.
Counter-Positioning: This is Rubis's strongest power. The company has positioned itself in markets that majors find uneconomic to serve. The main risks are associated with the company's significant exposure to emerging markets. While the Caribbean and Africa in general offer superior growth opportunities, these markets are potentially characterised by higher economic volatility, currency fluctuations and political risks. These risks are precisely why majors exit—and why Rubis can acquire attractive assets at reasonable valuations.
Switching Costs: Moderate for retail customers, higher for B2B relationships especially in aviation fuel.
Branding: The Rubis brand carries meaning in markets where it operates, though this is not a brand-driven consumer goods business.
Cornered Resource: Rubis does not possess unique resources, though its management expertise in challenging markets constitutes a capability advantage.
Process Power: The company's decentralized management structure and M&A execution capabilities represent accumulated organizational know-how.
Financial Performance & 2024-2025 Results
2024 Full Year Results
EBITDA of €721m, at the higher-end of the €675-725m guidance range, -3% yoy on a comparable basis, and -10% yoy reported vs a record 2023.
Net income Group share of €342m, inside the €340-375m guidance range, -4% yoy on a comparable basis, -3% yoy reported including €83m net capital gain from the disposal of Rubis Terminal. 2.03€ proposed dividend per share, to be paid in 2025, up 2.5% vs 2023 – 29th year of consecutive dividend growth for the Group. Cash flow from operations up 18% to €665m in 2024 underpinned by lower working capital needs. Corporate Net Financial Debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.4x at Dec-2024, stable vs Dec-2023.
While revenue was essentially flat year-on-year at €6,644m, with volumes up 5% (bitumen +10%, fuel +6% and LPG +2%), the company saw a 10% reduction in reported EBITDA to €721m as cash costs were up 2% y-o-y driven by payroll and external purchases.
Regional Performance
At a regional and product level, the bitumen business in Africa was the main drag on the overall performance in 2024. Thus, gross profit fell 20% y-o-y (-8% adjusted) in Africa and 24% for bitumen (+14% adjusted). Apart from the impact of forex, the company noted a delay in pricing adjustments in Kenya, which put additional pressure on margins during the year.
After a solid performance in 2023 and 2024, the Management Board anticipates the Caribbean region will start to normalise with a slightly lower growth rate in 2025.
2025 Outlook
Group EBITDA is expected to €710m to €760m in 2025.
"In the first half of 2025, Rubis delivered a robust performance in a market environment that remains volatile. The growth in both EBITDA and net income reflects the relevance of our diversified business model and growth strategy, making us strong amid macroeconomic and currency volatility. Steady cash flow generation underlines the soundness of our operations, enabling us to continue our disciplined investments."
H1 2025 saw a +3% increase in EBITDA to €369m (0% on a comparable basis).
Shareholder Structure & Governance Dynamics
Major Shareholders
The company's largest shareholders are as follows: Compagnie Nationale de Navigation, representing the Molis family: 9.4% of the share capital as of April 2025. Plantations des Terres Rouges, representing Bolloré Group: 6.0% as of April 2025. Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, representing the Dassault family: 5.7%. Ronald Sämann (member of the supervisory board from 2024): 5.6%. General and managing partners, supervisory board, company employees, treasury shares: 4.6%. Other/free float: 68.5%. Both Bolloré Group and the Molis family have been gradually increasing their ownership in the company over the last several years.
Recent Shareholder Tensions
The presence of Vincent Bolloré—France's most active corporate raider—among major shareholders has created governance drama. It was reported by the press that in 2024 Messrs Molis, Sämann and Bolloré Group failed an attempted overhaul of the company's supervisory board as the majority of the shareholders took the management's side. In May 2025, Rubis announced that the company proposed the appointment of Patrick Molis and Anne Lauvergeon (ex-CEO of Areva) to the company's supervisory board at the upcoming shareholder meeting. These appointments should alleviate the risks associated with the recent shareholder tensions.
On March 20, 2024, Plantations des Terres Rouges, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group, exceeded the threshold of 5% of the share capital and voting rights in Rubis. This investment is of a financial nature and represents an investment of 118 million euros as of July 29, 2024.
The SCA structure provides management with protection against hostile actions—but the concentration of sophisticated investors suggests ongoing scrutiny of strategy and capital allocation.
Recent Regulatory Issues: The Corsica Fine
In November 2025, Rubis faced a significant regulatory setback. France's anti-trust authority has imposed a fine totalling €187.5m ($217.3m) on TotalEnergies, Rubis and EG Group for engaging in an anti-competitive agreement that led to higher fuel prices in Corsica.
Rubis announced that it has been fined EUR64,240,000 jointly with its subsidiary Rubis Énergie, as well as an additional EUR430,000 fine jointly with its former subsidiary Rubis Terminal, by the French Competition Authority. This decision penalizes several industry players for engaging in anti-competitive collusion in the supply, storage, and distribution of fuels in Corsica between 2016 and 2022.
"Between 2016 and 2023 no other companies were allowed to use those depots," the watchdog said. "The agreement to reserve the use of Corsican fuel depots exclusively for DPLC shareholders is anticompetitive and likely to foreclose competitors to the detriment of consumers."
Rubis said it is "appalled" by the decision and "firmly denies" the practices alleged by the Autorite de la Concurrence. "The Group has consistently worked to ensure reliable and competitive fuel supply for the Corsican market, to the benefit of consumers on the island," it said in a statement, adding that it is reviewing whether to appeal the fine.
The fine represents roughly 62 euro cents per share and approximately one month of operating cash flow—material but not existential. However, it raises questions about regulatory risk in other concentrated markets where Rubis operates.
Bull Case
Emerging Market Growth: Africa and the Caribbean offer superior long-term growth potential as populations expand, urbanize, and increase energy consumption. Rubis's dominant positions provide leverage to this secular trend.
Capital Discipline: Management has demonstrated consistent ability to deploy capital at attractive returns through disciplined M&A. The KenolKobil transaction exemplified patient execution.
Renewable Optionality: Photosol provides exposure to growing solar markets without betting the company. The 2.5GW target for 2030 represents significant upside if executed.
Dividend Sustainability: 29 years of consecutive dividend growth creates a floor under the stock for income-focused investors. The 6%+ yield is attractive in current rate environments.
Counter-Positioned Strategy: As majors continue retreating from downstream distribution in complex markets, Rubis remains the natural buyer of attractive assets at reasonable valuations.
Bear Case
Africa Execution Risk: Kenya has proven challenging, with delayed pricing adjustments and currency volatility impacting margins. Nigeria, Haiti, and other markets face political instability.
Energy Transition Headwinds: Long-term decline in fossil fuel demand will eventually impact core business. The timing and pace remain uncertain, but directional risk is clear.
Regulatory Risk: The Corsica fine demonstrates vulnerability to antitrust enforcement. Concentrated market positions that drive profitability also attract regulatory scrutiny.
Governance Concerns: The SCA structure limits shareholder rights. Activist pressure from Bolloré and others could create distracting disputes.
Currency Exposure: Significant revenue in USD (Caribbean) and various African currencies creates translation and transaction exposure.
Key Performance Indicators to Monitor
For long-term investors tracking Rubis, three metrics deserve particular attention:
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Unit Margins by Region: The stability of gross margins per volume sold provides the clearest signal of competitive position and pricing power. Particular attention should be paid to African unit margins given recent volatility.
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Photosol Capacity Growth: Progress toward the 2.5GW 2030 target indicates successful execution of the renewable strategy. Current trajectory (535MW installed, 337MW under construction) suggests achievable but requires acceleration.
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Corporate Net Debt/EBITDA: Currently at 1.4x, this ratio reflects financial flexibility for acquisitions and dividends. Significant increases would constrain strategic optionality.
Conclusion
Rubis represents a distinctive investment proposition: a well-managed rollup strategy in an industry undergoing structural change. For three decades, Gilles Gobin and Jacques Riou have executed a playbook of acquiring downstream assets that oil majors no longer want, then operating them profitably in markets others find too complex.
The company now faces a transition on multiple fronts: leadership succession as founders prepare to step back, strategic reorientation toward renewables while maintaining fossil fuel cash flows, and geographic evolution as Africa grows in importance. "Our Energy Distribution businesses achieved robust growth across all regions while Photosol delivered according to plan. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our 2025 guidance, supported by the strength and growth potential of our diverse businesses."
The core question for investors is whether Rubis's advantages—market positions, management capability, SCA structure—translate into sustainable value creation in a decarbonizing world. The company has demonstrated adaptability through multiple cycles; whether it can navigate the energy transition as successfully remains the central uncertainty.
What cannot be disputed is the track record: Rubis has seen positive CAGRs across its key financial metrics over the last 15 years and has also enjoyed 29 years of consecutive dividend growth. In an industry characterized by boom-bust cycles and capital destruction, that consistency is itself remarkable.
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