Amsons Group has acquired the Oryx Energies Tanzania downstream business in a transaction worth more than $230 million, the Tanzanian-based conglomerate said in a statement on Friday.

The deal gives Amsons control of all downstream activities that Geneva-based Oryx Energies previously carried out in Tanzania, according to the statement. Downstream operations cover the storage, distribution and retail sale of fuel.

Oryx Energies CEO Moussa Diao said the transaction transfers key retail service stations, storage terminals and distribution infrastructure into local hands. He described it as a significant milestone for East Africa’s downstream energy sector.

Amsons described the agreement as a landmark deal in which a pan-African enterprise acquires the assets of an oil major.

Part of a wider asset review

The sale forms part of Oryx Energies’ ongoing strategic review of its downstream asset portfolio in Africa, the statement said.

Diao said the company will focus its capital on developing energy infrastructure across Africa and strengthening its trading activities. “Africa remains at the heart of our business and our long-term ambitions,” he said.

He said Tanzania has been an important part of Oryx Energies’ history and that the company is proud of the business and relationships it built there.

“We believe that Amsons Group is well placed to take this business into its next chapter,” Diao said. He added that Amsons can build on its existing strengths and create new opportunities for employees, customers and partners.

Amsons outlines expansion plans

Amsons Group Managing Director Edha Nahdi confirmed the acquisition. He said the group has an established presence in the region and is well positioned to build on the foundations Oryx Energies laid.

Nahdi said the group will pursue further growth opportunities in the Tanzanian market.

“We are delighted to finalise this acquisition, which marks a transformative step in our strategic vision to expand Amsons Group’s footprint in energy and logistics,” Nahdi said.

He said integrating Oryx’s distribution network and storage capabilities would strengthen domestic fuel security. It would also help anchor Tanzania as a regional logistics hub for East and Central Africa, he said.

Background on the companies

Amsons Group is a family-owned business founded in 2006 in Tanzania, with more than $1 billion in annual turnover. The group began as an oil importer and has since diversified into wheat flour milling, premix concrete, inland container depots, and transport and logistics.

Its fuel business includes depots in countries such as Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and more than 150 retail stations.

Amsons expanded into Kenya in 2024 with a takeover of Bamburi Cement. The group completed the roughly $183 million acquisition of more than 95% of the company in December 2024. It lifted the group’s cement capacity to 13,000 metric tons per day.

Oryx Energies traces its origins to petroleum trading in West Africa, which it began in 1987, according to the company’s website. It was formed in 2013 through the merger of its parent group’s trading and downstream businesses.

The company’s Tanzanian footprint grew through its purchase of the local assets of Italian energy company AGIP. According to Oryx Energies, that deal included 75 service stations and a lubricant blending plant.

The company also lists two strategic storage terminals in Tanzania, which it says it has operated since 2000, and says it was among the early players in the country’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market.

Tanzania’s downstream fuel market covers retail pumps, depots and the logistics that move fuel inland. The country’s ports also serve landlocked neighbours, which is why Nahdi framed the deal around regional logistics for East and Central Africa.