Overseas M&A
At least two Korean oil refiners – SK Energy and S-Oil – are competing to take over an Australian oil supplier.
The news was based on their respective stock market notices released over the last few weeks.
SK Innovation, the holding company of the largest local refiner SK Energy, said on November 18 in a regulatory filing that its refinery unit joined the race to acquire stakes in United Petroleum Pty., an Australian petrol and convenience store retailer.
Earlier, S-Oil also said in a regulatory filing on November 7 that it had submitted a preliminary bid to buy stakes in the Australian firm. The third-largest local refiner is going to hold its board meeting later this month to decide on the purchase details.
In addition to the two Korean companies, five to six other multinational companies based on Singapore have reportedly joined in the bid that will be made in January next year.
Established in 1993, United Petroleum Pty. has a network of over 300 gas stations across Australia with an annual turnover of 2 trillion won (US$1.8 billion).