Chandra Asri buys Exxon Singapore's retail fuel stations

Chandra Asri Pacific announced on Friday that it would acquire Exxon Mobil’s retail petrol stations with the Esso brand in Singapore, as the U.S. giant streamlines its downstream operation.

In a press release, the Indonesian conglomerate stated that the deal should be finalized by the end this year. The value of this deal, which includes almost 60 stations and related supply agreements, has not been disclosed.

Chandra Asri, the Indonesian company, said that it will continue to use Esso as its brand name, purchase fuel for the stations directly from Exxon and hire Exxon employees to run the business.

In response to an email, the company stated that it would not be able to disclose any commercial details about the deal.

The announcement confirms an April report that Chandra Asri’s joint venture had been in discussions with Exxon Mobil about buying the assets, as the U.S. Energy firm was leaving Singapore’s retail fuel market.

LSEG data shows that Chandra Asri Pacific shares rose 2.1% last Friday. The stock has fallen roughly 2.7% in the past year and is valued at around $37 billion.

Aster Chemicals and Energy is owned by Chandra Asri in a joint-venture with Glencore. The company has announced several investments over the past few months, including an upgrade of Singapore's Bukom Refinery and a purchase of a Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals petrochemical facility.

A spokesperson for Exxon said that the company will continue to operate its refinery and petrochemical facility on Jurong Island in order to supply fuels to customers both locally and internationally.

The U.S. company announced earlier that it would be cutting its Singaporean workforce of 3,500 employees by 10%-15% as part of its global restructuring plan.

Bangchak Petroleum previously acquired Exxon's retail network in Thailand for 603 million dollars in 2023.

Earlier reports indicated that Baker McKenzie, a global law firm, represented Chandra Asri. (Reporting and writing by Yantoultra NGi, Trixie Yap and Florence Tan. Editing by Tom Hogue.

(source: Reuters)