Ultramar Diamond Shamrock acquires Tosco's Avon refinery

Ultramar Diamond Shamrock announced the signing of the definitive Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement for Tosco's 168,000 bpd Avon refinery located in the San Francisco Bay Area. As detailed in the July 5th announcement, the purchase price will be $ 650 mm plus a contingency payment of up to $ 150 mm to be paid over the next eight years if annual West Coast refining industry margins are above average. The transaction is expected to close immediately upon attaining customary regulatory approvals.
This acquisition provides UDS with a greater presence in the strategically important US West Coast market. The Avon refinery complements the company's Wilmington, California, refinery, near the port of Long Beach, and its network of approximately 160 company-operated and 200-plus branded wholesale sites.
"The signing of this agreement comes after a very thorough due diligence process and after confirming the value of the transaction," said Jean Gaulin, UDS chairman and CEO. "We very much appreciated the cooperation of Tosco and the Avon employees throughout this process and look forward to a timely closing and smooth transition. We also re-iterate our commitment to create a safe, environmentally sound and profitable refinery."

Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, with about $ 15.0 bn in annual revenues and more than 20,000 employees, is one of the largest independent refining and marketing companies in North America. The company operates six refineries in the United States and Canada with a total throughput capacity of 682,000 bpd and has over 5,000 branded retail gasoline/convenience merchandise stores, the majority of which are branded Diamond Shamrock, Ultramar, Beacon or Total. The corporation also has growing petrochemicals and home heating oil businesses.