BP and Woolworths have lawyered up for the review of their $1.8 billion deal.
Corrs Chambers Westgarth and
Clayton Utz have been given the mandate by BP and Woolworths respectively to prepare for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s review of their deal, a report from the
AFR’s
Street Talk reveals.
Last month, Woolworths confirmed that it planned to sell its petrol station chain to BP for $1.8 billion to refocus on its core supermarket business.
Street Talk notes that Corrs has been “beavering away in the background for some months in preparation for the examination,” while Woolworths is said to have “Clayton Utz lawyers in its corner.”
BP will be acquiring 527 Woolworths fuel outlets which are currently supplied by Caltex Australia. It will also be acquiring 16 development sites.
The british oil giant has more than 1,350 petrol stations across Australia with 350 being company-owned and 1,000 BP-branded but are independently-owned.
According to Credit Suisse data cited by
Street Talk, BP will have about 1,927 sites if the acquisition goes through. Rival Caltex has 1,900 while Shell and Coles Express have 980 and 692, respectively.
The sale comes after Woolworths took a $1.8 billion impairment charge for its failed entry into the hardware business.
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