Nasan Energies is set to become the third-largest fuel retailer in Namibia after the competition commission approved the acquisition of 52 service stations from Vivo Energy.

Nasan - co-founded by Miguel Hamutenya (33) - confirmed the approval in a press release yesterday.

Hamutenya is the group chief executive of Millenium Investment Holdings, a company founded by his father, Mathews Hamutenya.

Mathews was previously the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia's deputy chairperson.

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Now, Miguel will play a greater role in Namibia's downstream petroleum industry through his 70% ownership of Nasan Energies.

"We've invested so much into this acquisition to date and have only been waiting for confirmation from the Namibian Competition Commission to implement it. We urge the public to be part of this rebranding exercise and to look forward to the same entrusted service," Miguel says.

The service stations involved are Engen and Shell-branded and located throughout the country.

The sale of the service stations was initiated in 2024, when Vivo Energy bought Engen Limited from Petronas.

The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) approved the purchase under the condition that Vivo divest a portion of its service stations.

According to Nasan Energies' press release, Vivo Energy and Puma Energy remain the largest fuel retailers in the country.

The NaCC began investigating Nasan's purchase of the fuel stations after it emerged that Nasan and Vivo Energy might be connected through Miguel.

As Millenium group chief executive, Miguel has a partnership with Vivo's parent company Vitol.

The competition commission was investigating whether that relationship would establish an effective monopoly over fuel retail.

The Namibian understands that the NaCC has approved the merger, with conditions that have not yet been made public.

The NaCC informed the companies of its decision on Wednesday evening.