Parkland Fuel (TSX: PKI) has agreed to acquire Chevron Canada R&M, which operates the Canadian integrated downstream fuel business of oil & gas giant Chevron (NYSE: CVX). The C$1.46 billion (~$1.1 billion) deal comprises:
- 129 Chevron service stations principally in Vancouver, bringing Parkland’s total of Chevron-branded sites in British Columbia to 173.
- 37 commercial cardlock and three marine fueling locations.
- A refinery and terminal located in Burnaby, BC, and terminals in Hatch Point and Port Hardy, BC, and a wholesale business which includes aviation fuel sales to the Vancouver International Airport.
Above all for its part, Parkland will become the exclusive distributor of Chevron-branded fuels in the province, adding 950 million liters in incremental annual retail fuel volume to reinforce the company’s “supply-focused business model,” according to its CEO Bob Espey. In addition to the sticker price, Parkland has agreed to pay an estimated $186 million in working capital.
Chevron for sale
If completed, the deal will become Chevron’s 47th asset divestiture since 2010, according to the PitchBook Platform. By contrast, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), one of the world’s largest oil & gas companies at a market cap of some $341 billion, divested 25 assets over the same period, per PitchBook data.
Prior to 2014’s massive sell-off of 15 assets, Chevron had let go of no more than eight units in any given year. But that year saw what Chevron has called “a precipitous drop in crude oil prices,” leading to the launch of a three-year, $10 billion divestment program that obtained $5.7 billion in asset sales during the first year alone, according to the company’s 2014 annual report.
Generating over half of the targeted goal only a third of the way into its sell-off scheme helps to explain 2015’s return to single digit divestment numbers. That year, Chevron sold four units, and that figure increased to five divested assets last year.
Chevron’s divested assets since 2010 by geography
Of the assets Chevron has sold since 2010, about half of the total represented US-based business, with Asia and Europe comprising some 16% apiece.
Chevron’s shares closed down around 1.4% Wednesday, giving it a market cap of $196.6 billion. Parkland gained over 6% on the news for a market cap of C$2.9 billion.
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Article by Adam Putz, PitchBook