Tribunal gives nod to Engen's new Dutch-Swiss owners with host of conditions

The Competition Tribunal has approved a takeover of SA's largest fuel service network Engen by Dutch-Swiss commodities group Vitol, but has imposed a host of conditions, including on procurement and employee ownership.

The deal was first made public in February 2023, with Malaysia's national oil company Petronas agreeing to sell its 74% stake in Engen to Vivo Energy, a move that will create one of the continent's largest distributors of fuel and lubricants. Engen markets and sells petroleum products through over 1 000 branded service stations it and operates over two dozen terminals and depots. It employed about 3 000 people as of 2022.

Vivo, owned by Vitol, owns 2 700 service stations across 24 African countries. It didn't previously operate in South Africa, but elsewhere on the continent it owns service stations under the Engen and Shell brand. In 2018, Vivo moved to acquire the Engen business in nine African markets.