Australia ACCC Identifies Issues With Caltex, Exxon Terminal Deal

Australia's competition watchdog is again standing in the way of a proposed sale of assets by Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) to Caltex Australia Ltd. (CTX.AU).

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said Thursday it has identified competition issues with Caltex's proposed acquisition of Exxon's share of a jointly owned fuel terminal at the port of Gladstone in Queensland state.

While not a large transaction, the deal would mark another stage in Exxon Mobil's exit from Australian gasoline markets following the sale of its filling stations to 7-Eleven Australia in May.

The stations were sold to 7-Eleven after the ACCC blocked a A$300 million sale to Caltex, which is 50%-owned by Chevron Corp. (CVX).

The ACCC has invited submissions from the market for the fuel terminal deal and deferred its final decision until Jan. 27.

Caltex's ownership share of terminal capacity in Queensland will increase marginally by 2.5% to 30.3% under the proposed acquisition, a Caltex spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires on Nov. 4.

"The key drivers behind this arrangement were to realize cost and operational efficiencies for both parties," the spokesman said at the time.

-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4692; Ross.Kelly@dowjones.com

Caltex Australia (ASX:CTX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2024 to Dec 2024