NEWS ANALYSIS: SinopecOil-Chevron SA merger is no ordinary case
Hilary Joffe looks at an unusual hearing, on an unusual deal
Last week’s Competition Tribunal hearing on the proposed merger in which Chinese oil giant Sinopec is to acquire the 75% of Chevron SA that US-based Chevron Global Energy is selling was an unusual hearing, on an unusual deal. First, it’s not often that the tribunal holds a hearing on a deal that may turn out not to be a deal at all. That is because if a rival bid is approved by the regulators, the Sinopec deal will fall away, even if it already has the tribunal’s blessing. Sinopec’s rival is global oil trader Glencore. But it is all a bit peculiar because Glencore has come in via Chevron SA’s 25% minority shareholders, who exercised their right of first refusal to buy 100% of Chevron SA late in 2017, almost six months after Sinopec and Chevron Global Energy signed their $900m deal.
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