ACCC to rule on BP’s purchase of Woolworths service stations next week

JOHN DURIE
August 2, 2017
The Australian

BP and Woolworths appear to have reached some sort of deal with the ACCC which will now make its preliminary call on the $1.8 billion purchase of Woolworths petrol sites on August 10.

The ACCC was due to make the decision on July 13 but it was delayed pending receipt of new information from the parties.

This normally means the parties are trying to convince the ACCC of a new deal.

The purchase of 527 retail sites will inevitably involve some overlap with existing BP sites, so it’s just a question of which ones have to go.

The acquisition will increase BP’s market share of wholesale sites from 18 to 30 per cent, leaving it with around 1,900 sites, which puts it in the same league as Caltex. Coles comes next with about 692 sites.

Woolworths (WOW) has done a deal with BP which will mean it will supply its convenience stores in competition with Coles and Caltex’s “Foodery” stores.