Brussels, 03/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 31 October, the European Commission cleared the purchase by Galp Energia of Portugal of a distribution network from US group ExxonMobil in Spain and Portugal, on condition that it divest itself of certain assets.
The transaction, which was announced in April, concerns 130 service stations and sales of LPG and aircraft fuels, amounting to total annual sales of petroleum products of approximately one million tonnes. The proposed transaction as initially notified would have given rise to “competition concerns” in certain refined oil product markets in Portugal, says the commission in, a press release. It cites non-retail sales of diesel, LPG in bottles, LPG in bulk, into-plane aviation fuel and lubricants.
Galp, therefore, agreed to cede a sea terminal, which also serves as a LPG bottling plant, a storage facility for liquid fuels and LPG, and a blending plant for lubricants. It also undertook to divest itself of certain Esso shareholdings in airport joint ventures and other assets for into-plane operations in Portuguese airports. The Commission concluded that “the businesses to be divested would be viable and that the divestitures would resolve all identified competition concerns”. (L.C./transl.rt)