The Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) share price is in the green today after the company agreed to offload its New Zealand business Gull.
The petroleum company's shares are currently swapping hands at $28.83, a 2.49% gain.
So what did Ampol announce today?
New agreement
Ampol has entered a binding agreement with Australian investment manager Allegro for the sale of its New Zealand business Gull. This follows a competitive trade sales process, according to the company.
Allegro will acquire 100% of Gull for net cash proceeds of about NZ$509 million. There is also an assumption by Allegro of approximately $63 million of leases and debt-like items.
Ampol plans to use the proceeds of the sale to help fund the acquisition of Z Energy (ASX: ZEL).
In a statement authorised by the Ampol board, the company said:
Ampol committed to divest Gull in full to ensure any potential competition law issues were fully addressed as part of its application to the NZCC for approval to acquire Z Energy.
It is expected the Gull divestment will occur within a prescribed period following completion of the scheme to acquire Z Energy which remains on track to complete in the first half of 2022.
Gull is made up of Ampol Limited, ALD Group Holdings NZ Limited, Gull New Zealand Limited, and Terminals New Zealand Limited. Between them, the companies own a network of 112 service stations, a 91ML fuel import terminal at Mount Maunganui, and six retail properties.
The deal is subject to conditions, including approval from the New Zealand Commerce Commission.
Ampol on the ASX share price snapshot
The Ampol share price has slipped 3% this year to date but has gained almost 21% over the past 12 months.
In the past month, Ampol shares have dropped 9% and are down 4% over the past week.
Ampol has a market capitalisation of about $6.9 billion based on its current share price.
