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Article: Alarm at Exxon's $240bn Mobil merger
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 27, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1998 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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THE PLANNED $240bn merger between Exxon and Mobil is facing huge
regulatory hurdles that could even scupper any deal, analysts and oil
industry observers said yesterday.
Exxon, the world's biggest energy group, and Mobil, America's
second biggest oil company, are in advanced talks and could announce
their tie- up - the largest industrial merger ever - as early as next
week.
However, analysts cautioned that the regulatory problems were
immense, both in the US and in Europe where Exxon, which trades as
Esso, would have to unravel Mobil's existing joint venture in
refining and marketing with BP-Amoco.
A merger would give Exxon a huge share of the European petrol and
lubricants market. It is ...