ACCC greenlights Caltex’s acquisition of Milemaker sites in Melbourne

JOHN DURIE 
May 4, 2017
The Australian

The ACCC has cleared Caltex’s $95 million acquisition of the Milemaker sites in Melbourne but the move says little about the coming decision on the $1.8 billion BP purchase of the Woolworths sites.

Caltex said in a statement it welcomed the approval and the deal will now close next week.

Separately the ACCC has waved the warning flags over the proposed APN purchase of outdoor advertising group oOh!media.

The combination will be the major player in the outdoor advertising market but as this speaks for just 5.5 per cent of the total market, APN argued it has little impact on the overall market.

The ACCC rejected this argument in its statement of issues.

The BP deal is dominated by overlapping retail sites which makes it more difficult to clear whereas the Milemaker sites were in separate markets.

Still the ACCC had earlier warned it may block the purchase of 46 separate petrol stations.

The Milemaker sites were under the Caltex banner but operated separately and had a reputation for being recalcitrants in the market, operating on different pricing decisions.

But if there is no other Caltex site in the market this has little impact on competition which explains why the deal was cleared. 

BP and Caltex by contrast operate several service stations in the same area.

In a statement, ACCC chief Rod Sims said of the Milemaker deal: “This was a difficult decision, as competition will be reduced. However, the small size of Milemaker and limited direct competitive overlap with Caltex led the ACCC to conclude that the effect on competition is not likely to be substantial. A ‘substantial’ lessening of competition is required for an acquisition to breach the Competition and Consumer Act.”