Caltex shares drop more than 9 percent after Chevron divests from all of its stakes.

Caltex Australia shares drop after Chevron exit

Australia

SYDNEY, March 30, 2015 – Fuel transport, refining and retail company Caltex Australia has seen its shares fall after Chevron entirely divested of its 50-percent stake in the company for $3.7 billion. Caltex’s shares have taken a more than 9-percent hit as a result.

Despite the drop in share prices, the company’s stock remains at a 56-percent high over the past 12 months. Chevron’s exit represents the largest block sale in Australia to date.

UK equity firm Macquarie Securities said in a statement regarding the divestment, “With a number of recent blocks offered at narrow discounts, this could be viewed as an option for more active investors who are sitting on large cash balances to secure a market weight in what will now be a more material index stock at a reasonable discount, which offers a reasonable, defensive yield.”

Chevron’s exit from Australia’s refining sector comes after Shell and BP both sold off shares in refining operations in the country last year.

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