Competition Authority stops clock on Statoil takeover

The Competition Authority has stopped short of sanctioning the Topaz consortium's multimillion-euro takeover of Statoil's Irish business by seeking additional information on the deal before making its final decision.

The request amounts to a minor setback for Topaz, which already owns the Shell network of filling stations. However, a spokesman said the group was "absolutely confident" of a successful outcome to the process.

There is no deadline on Topaz and Statoil to produce the information required by the authority, which will be allowed by a further period of one-month to consider the information it receives.

Neither the authority's spokesman nor the Topaz spokesman would identify the particular information that the authority was seeking from the companies. It is likely, however, that the antitrust body wants information on whether the combination of the Statoil and Shell assets will result in the elimination or reduction of competition in a particular sector in a particular location. For example, Statoil and Shell are each known to own oil terminals in Galway.

When combined with the Shell business, the Statoil deal gives Topaz direct control of more than 100 filling stations and distribution agreements with another 300 dealer-owned stations.

According to the authority's website, it made the request for information on August 11th. That was last day of the initial one-month period of scrutiny that the authority is allowed. The request stopped the clock on that process. The body has the power after its initial scrutiny to clear a deal, seek further information or trigger a full investigation of the transaction. While it did not take the option of clearing the deal straight away, Topaz believes the deal will ultimately get the go-ahead.

"The Competition Authority's consideration is following its normal course and we're co-operating fully," its spokesman said.

Statoil indicated this month that it will realise a net gain in the region of only €76 million from the sale of its Irish business. Such a gain would be considerably less than the price of some €280 million that was mooted around the time of the deal in June.

However, Topaz chairman Neil O'Leary said afterwards that the real figure was "significantly less" than that. Some sources contend that the actual price may have been in the region of €140 million, a sum that said by others to radically understate the price.