Rubis Energy Bermuda is buying Bermuda Gas in a $17.7 million deal.

Almost a year after Bermuda Gas exited its retail appliances business, the company is set to change hands. There will be no job losses.

Rubis is the island’s leading importer of propane gas. It approached Ascendant Group, the parent company of Bermuda Gas, and expressed an interest in buying its propane distribution and commercial service business.

The companies have since entered into a binding agreement, whereby Bermuda Gas and Utility Company will be sold to Rubis in a deal estimated at about $17.7 million.

Ascendant Group, which is also the parent company of Belco, had not been looking to sell Bermuda Gas, but decided to do so after an “attractive valuation” of the company by Rubis.

Bermuda Gas achieved an operating profit of $656,000 in the first six months of 2015, according to an earnings report. That figure excluded the impact of restructuring charges and related expenses from the closure of its retail appliance and service business lines last June. The closure of those elements of the business resulted in a one-off restructuring charge of $1.4 million to Bermuda Gas.

Acquiring Bermuda Gas is viewed as a compelling business move by Rubis, which owns a number of gas stations on the island, together with petroleum and chemical storage facilities,.

“The Bermuda Gas acquisition represents a strategic expansion of Rubis’s existing LPG business in Bermuda,” said Graham Redford, managing director.

“Rubis is currently the Island’s leading importer of LPG and the integration of the supply and distribution chains will allow us to expand infrastructure capabilities to better serve our customers.”

Mr Redford said all 18 employees of Bermuda Gas will remain with the company, and all existing supply agreements and equipment warranties will be honoured.

He added: “One of the key advantages of this acquisition to our staff and customers, is being able to combine the knowledge and expertise of Rubis’s global LPG operations with a company that understands the complexities of the local business environment and is 100 per cent staffed by Bermudians.”

Rubis Energy Bermuda is part of the Rubis group, a French-based international company involved in the storage distribution and sale of petroleum, LPG, chemical products and fertilisers. It has a market capitalisation of $3 billion.

Commenting on the deal, Walter Higgins, Ascendant Group chief executive officer, said: “While Ascendant was not actively seeking to exit the propane distribution business, the sale of Bermuda Gas to a well-respected, experienced local company at an attractive valuation provides an opportunity for the company to reserve capital for anticipated new energy infrastructure investment and other corporate needs.”

The company said that as Bermuda Gas transitions to Rubis the business will remain at its location on Serpentine Road.