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