WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement relating to the nation's second largest gasoline and a convenience store chain's acquisition proposal that would affect retail gasoline and retail diesel in five local markets.
The FTC has approved the recent settlement regarding Speedway's, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corp, acquisition of Express Mart, which operates convenience stores and retail fuel outlets throughout New York.
According to the FTC, the proposed acquisition by Speedway would upset retail gasoline and diesel in New York's Farmington, Fayetteville, Johnson City, Rochester and Whitney Point markets. In some of the markets, the acquisition would reduce the number of competitors and result in a monopoly, the FTC said. Marathon could also raise https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2018/10/ftc-requires-divestitures-condition-marathon-petroleum prices in each of the markets and "enhance the incentives for interdependent behavior" in those markets, according to the FTC.
As part of the settlement, Marathon has agreed to divest retail fuel outlets in the specific markets to Sunoco, and Marathon and Express Mart must maintain "the competitiveness of the divestiture assets" through the divestiture process, the FTC said.