BP's Plan To Buy Woolworth's Petrol Stations Rejected By ACCC

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") has decided against the proposed acquisition of Woolworth's petrol stations by BP Plc BP, per Reuters. 

The ACCC believes that the $1.4-billion worth purchase, will curb competition significantly in the retail fuel market. With reduced competition, motorists will have to pay higher prices for fuel at Woolworth stations, said the Australian watchdog. The latest offer by BP to divest few stations for addressing ACCC's concern has also been rejected. BP is disappointed and is in talks with lawyers to challenge the ACCC decision, the source revealed.

Caltex Australia Ltd, a leading supplier of fuel in Australia, will likely gain from the ACCC verdict. Per the source, Caltex was about to sacrifice its contract with Woolworth for supplying fuel. This could hurt the fuel supplier's projected 2017 earnings. 

London-based BP is among the leading integrated energy players in the world. The stock has rallied 8.7% year to date, outperforming the 5.2% gain of the Zacks Oil International Integrated industry. We appreciate the company's renewed share repurchase program, which reflects the company's renewed financial strength on a healthy crude pricing scenario.

BP sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). A few other top-ranked energy players are Lonestar Resources US Inc. LONE, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation SNP and Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. NOG. All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, is an upstream energy player. The company is expected to post year-over-year earnings growth of 81.3% for 2017.

Headquartered in Beijing, China Petroleum is a leading integrated energy player. The company will likely witness year-over-year earnings growth of 59.1% in 2017.

Based in Minnetonka, MN, Northern Oil is an upstream energy player. The company's 2017 revenues are estimated to grow almost 44%.

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