ACCC Stalls Ampol’s $1.1B Takeover Of EG Australia
Synopsis
Ampol’s $1.1 billion bolt-on to buy more than 500 EG Australia service stations is facing a major roadblock. The competition regulator, the ACCC, has expressed serious concerns that the deal could damage competition and result in higher petrol prices in more than 100 local areas. Ampol has offered to sell 19 stations to address these concerns, but the watchdog says this won’t be enough. The deal is now in a heightened review process that could delay any final decision by months.
Ampol’s ambitious $1.1 billion bid to acquire the EG Australia service station network has hit a major roadblock. The deal has now been formally slammed on the brakes by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC. The regulator fears that allowing Ampol to acquire more than 500 new sites would be dangerous for competition. When a single company holds too many stations in one region, drivers at the pump tend to pay higher prices.
The agreement was first unveiled in August 2024. EG Group, a British firm, sought to offload its Australian operation and exit the market. The ACCC has since been examining the impact of this change on ordinary Australians. The watchdog on Wednesday said it’s not yet ready to give a “yes” vote. Instead, it’s transitioning to a far more detailed and serious phase of inquiry into whether the acquisition is really fair.
Local Competition at Risk
The main issue for the ACCC is that drivers don’t have a choice in certain towns and suburbs. The watchdog has found more than 115 sites across the country for which an Ampol takeover could “substantially lessen” competition. This could effectively put no competition in some locations, allowing Ampol to raise prices without losing customers to a cheaper nearby rival.
The major cities in focus for the ACCC include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Canberra. In these large metro areas, the watchdog believes creating two of the country’s largest fuel sellers would result in drivers having fewer choices. Ampol already operates more than 1,800 branded stations nationwide, and owning another 500 would make it a behemoth that smaller rivals would find difficult to compete with.
Proposed Fixes Falling Short
In a move to try to help the deal across the line, Ampol made some sort of peace offering. They proposed selling 19 of the service stations to other companies that they intend to buy. The idea was that if they gave up these 19 spots, there would still be enough competition in the local markets to appease the government. But the offer has already been rejected by the ACCC, which said that selling as few as 19 of them was nowhere near enough to address the issues they had identified across Australia.
Ampol’s Chief Executive, Matt Halliday, insists the deal makes strong business sense. EG Australia already sells Ampol’s fuel and uses its brand, so combining them under one roof seems logical. Halliday believes the move would help the company expand and serve more customers effectively. But the regulator is less focused on business strategy and more on what families pay each week to fill up their cars.
What Comes Next for the Deal
The ACCC has now shifted the case to “Phase 2,” meaning any takeover will be delayed. This second phase involves a much more detailed examination, including the company’s books and local markets. It could take as long as 90 days or more before a final decision is made. That means the $1.1 billion transaction might not be finalized until mid-2026.
This comes at a time when the fuel industry is already in transition. More people are working from home and driving electric cars, so the overall volume of petrol being sold in Australia is gradually shrinking. Buying the EG network is a way for Ampol to stay strong in a shrinking market. For the ACCC, its goal is to ensure that as the market changes, power doesn’t concentrate among one or two massive companies.
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