Ampol secures a key win in its $1 billion push to buy EG Australia after the ACCC signs off on the deal on the condition of major site divestments. The regulator’s approval hinges on Ampol offloading 41 overlapping fuel sites across Australia to an approved buyer rather than folding them into its expanding network. Conditions are designed to keep petrol and diesel prices competitive in dozens of tightly contested local markets.
Ampol currently runs 576 service stations under the Ampol banner and a further 45 under its U-GO brand while EG Australia operates 512 retail sites nationwide. During its review the ACCC drilled into 39 local areas where EG Australia outlets directly overlap with Ampol locations and could face reduced competition after the deal. Ampol first proposed selling just 19 sites to ease concerns then lifted that offer to 41 during the regulator’s more in-depth second-phase assessment. Approval ultimately lands with those extra divestments locked in as a formal condition.
Metro Petroleum, which operates more than 300 sites across Australia, is the approved buyer for the 41 divested outlets. The ACCC also grants Metro a notification waiver for acquiring the sites, streamlining the process so the divestment can move quickly once the transaction closes. Regulators say their earlier deep dive into the Ampol-EG transaction makes it easier to fast-track Metro’s waiver because they already understand the competitive dynamics around each affected local market. Officials present the structure of the remedy as an example of how deals can still proceed efficiently under Australia’s new merger regime, provided meaningful competition safeguards are built in.
