BP expands Australia retail footprint

Australian grocer Woolworths on Wednesday announced it would let go of its fuel retail business, selling its stations to BP.

Valued at USD 1.29 billion, the transaction will see BP add 524 petrol stations to its existing number of outlets, some 1,400. The agreement also covers 16 development sites. The petrol station deal will soon also see BP takeover from Caltex Australia as fuel supplier.

Woolworths first indicated it was mulling a divestment in September. “Following extensive evaluation of the proposals received, we decided that BP’s proposal met our strategic and broader commercial imperatives and in its entirety provided superior long-term shareholder value,” the supermarket chain’s chief executive, Brad Banducci, said in a statement.

BP’s competitors have in recent years sold their petrol stations in Australia, beginning with ExxonMobil in 2010, followed by Shell four years later. Earlier this month, the Anglo-Dutch major also shed its aviation fuel business.