Exxon Mobil Sells Japanese Refinery (XOM, BP, RDS-A)
US oil & gas giant Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has agreed to sell 99% of its Japanese refining subsidiary to Japanese refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu for $3.9 billion. The sale also includes the majority of Exxon’s share in TonenGeneral, leaving…
US oil & gas giant Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) has agreed to sell 99% of its Japanese refining subsidiary to Japanese refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu for $3.9 billion. The sale also includes the majority of Exxon’s share in TonenGeneral, leaving the US company with a 22% stake in the Japanese refiner.
Exxon joins BP plc (NYSE: BP) and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) in shedding refining assets in developed nations where gasoline consumption is falling. Europe’s largest refiner, Swiss-based Petroplus, recently filed for bankruptcy after its banks rejected pleas for additional credit to purchase crude.
It’s hard to see what TonenGeneral gains from this deal except for control of its own destiny and exclusive use of the Exxon brand in Japan. But at a pretty steep price, that the Japanse company plans to finance primarily with debt.
Exxon will retain its liquefied natural gas marketing and specialty chemicals businesses in Japan.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
