Z Energy is buying Chevron New Zealand, operator of the Caltex chain of service stations.
The deal is valued at $785 million and will mean Z will supply fuel to almost half of New Zealand's petrol stations.
Z owns 210 sites, while Chevron operates 146 Caltex-branded sites, which are independently owned and operated. Chevron also supplies 90 Farmlands sites.
Competitors Exxon Mobil has about 190 Mobil stations and BP has 210 stations. Gull operates 21 stations in the North Island.
The deal still needs approval from both the Commerce Commission and the Overseas Investment Office.
Last week Chevron sold its 11.4 percent interest in NZ Refining for more than $80 million.
Z chief executive Mike Bennetts said Z is the best-positioned and most logical buyer of the Caltex business.
"Like the creation of Z five years ago, this acquisition bucks the trend of Kiwi companies being sold offshore. Instead, this transaction represents another example of bringing the New Zealand operations of a multinational company directly into the ownership and exclusive operation of a company that has recently been recognised as having one of the strongest and most trusted corporate reputations in New Zealand," he said.
"The New Zealand transport fuels market is and will remain highly competitive. As New Zealanders know, Z and Caltex are only two players in a very dynamic marketplace in which there are currently five importers of refined fuel and crude oil and where motorists have the choice of at least a dozen fuel retailers."
He said there will be benefits for the expanded company from the procurement, including operating cost and supply chain efficiencies achievable under common ownership and systems.
3 News
source: newshub archive
