Ampol's $1.1 billion takeover of the EG Australia service station network has hit a snag with the competition watchdog. The petrol stations reached an agreement in August for Ampol to acquire more than 500 service stations from the British-owned company.
But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has now raised concerns the acquisition could “substantially lessen competition” in the petrol and diesel space in several markets. As a result, it has decided not to approve the acquisition in its phase 1 assessment and will instead move to a phase 2 review.
“The acquisition would combine two major fuel retailers in Australia,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.
“We have identified 115 EG sites where the acquisition could substantially lessen competition in the relevant local market, and also consider that the acquisition could substantially lessen competition in the metropolitan areas of Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.”
Ampol, which has around 1,800 branded sites nationally, offered to divest 19 retail fuel sites to address competition concerns from the proposed acquisition.
However, the ACCC argued this did not adequately address the issue, so it has decided to conduct the further in-depth competition assessment. No decision has been reached yet.
Full story Fuel giant Ampol's $1.1 billion takeover of 500 EG Australia service stations hits snag
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