STATOIL and Conoco Ireland said they will sell an unspecified number of petrol stations to Maxol Ireland in an effort to win approval from the Competition Authority for the Norwegian company's purchase of the Jet network.
Under the new proposal, which was submitted to Enterprise and Employment Minister, Mr Bruton, on Tuesday, the market share of Statoil "would be considerably less than the current combined market share of Statoil and Jet".
The new proposal, the exact details of which are confidential, "also addresses the issue of pricing," according to a statement from the Minister's office.
Mr Bruton made the order blocking Statoil's purchase of Jet in February after a Competition Authority investigation found that the deal could reduce competition and lead to increased prices.
The two companies appealed this ruling in the High Court, and were yesterday granted an adjournment, pending Mr Bruton's consideration of the proposal.
Under the deal Statoil was to have acquired Jet's 257 service stations in the Republic increasing its overall network to 440 outlets and giving it 25 per cent of the market. Esso has 23 per cent, while Texaco and Shell are thought to have about 17 per cent each. Maxol is believed to have about 9-10 per cent of the market.
