Paz Oil Company Ltd. (Hebrew: פז חברת הנפט בע"מ) (TASE: PZOL) is the largest Israelifuelscompany. Paz distributes gasoline and other petroleum products through a network of gas stations, as well as LPG and natural gas for home use (cooking and heating) through its subsidiary PazGaz. Paz operates combined cafes and stores in many gas stations, through its subsidiary Yellow. It also owns the supermarket chains Freshmarket and Super Yuda.
History
Foundation, names, and ownership in the 20th century
Paz was founded in 1922 as Anglo-Asiatic Petroleum. From 1927, it operated as part of Royal Dutch Shell under the name Shell Palestine.
In 1957, Shell decided to withdraw from Israel due to economic pressure from Arab countries. In 1958, the company changed to the ownership of the BritonIsaac Wolfson and the FrenchNahmias brothers, and it was renamed Paz Petroleum Company Ltd. The company's symbol, a yellow triangle, still resembles that of Shell.
Wolfson sold his holdings in the company in 1981 to the State of Israel, which sold it in 1988 to the AustralianJack Liberman. Since 1999, the Israeli businessman Zadik Bino has owned the majority of the shares, with the Liberman family and other groups holding minority interests.
Investments and market reach in the 21st century
In 1999, Paz acquired 74 percent of the Israeli fast-food chain Burger Ranch. In late 2001, Paz completed the acquisition, becoming 100 percent owners of the chain. New branches of Burger Ranch were opened at Paz gas stations. In 2006, Paz sold the chain to the Israeli businessman Yossi Hoshinski.
In August 2006, Paz won a tender to acquire the Ashdod Oil Refineries with a NIS 3.5 billion bid, from Oil Refineries Ltd; which was forced to break its monopoly on oil refining in Israel. The acquisition made Paz Israel's most powerful energy company and its owner Zadik Bino the industry's most powerful figure.[1]
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