German Cartel Office Blocks Total Buy Of OMV Filling Stations
April 29 2009 - 8:14AM
Dow Jones News
Germany's Federal Cartel Office Wednesday said it has blocked
plans by Total Deutschland GmbH, the German unit of Total SA (TOT),
to acquire 59 filling stations from Austria's OMV AG (OMV.VI).
The regulator said the decision to block the acquisition was the
result of an ongoing investigation into the functioning of the
German gasoline and diesel market.
The cartel office said the purchase of the OMV filling stations
in eastern Germany would have given Total and four other companies
that form an oligopoly in the German gasoline and diesel sector an
unacceptable market dominant position.
Together, the five dominant companies - Total, Royal Dutch Shell
PLC (RDSA.LN), BP PLC (BP), ConocoPhillips (COP) and ExxonMobil
(XOM) - would reach a market share of between 80% and 85%.
Company Web site: www.bundeskartellamt.de
-By Jan Hromadko, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 503;
jan.hromadko@dowjones.com