By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Dec. 19 -- The US Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of Valero Energy Corp. and Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp. The merger will be completed Dec. 31.
The final FTC requirement for the $7 billion deal centered on divestiture of the 168,000 b/d Golden Eagle refinery in the San Francisco Bay area and 70 associated retail sites located throughout Northern California (OGJ Online, Dec. 3, 2001). Valero has 12 months to sell or swap those assets.
"We will use the proceeds from the divestiture to pay down debt and buy back our stock, so the impact to our earnings is expected to be minimal," said Valero CEO Bill Greehey.
The new organization still will have 12 refineries and a total throughput capacity of nearly 2 million b/d.
Valero also will be one of the nation's largest gasoline retailers with approximately 5,000 retail outlets in the United States and Canada.
