Exxon and Mobil agreed to divest 2,431 gas stations to obtain FTC approval for their 1999 merger.
The Federal Trade Commission concluded that the combination could reduce competition in gasoline refining, marketing, and retail sales. Its proposed settlement required the sale or assignment of stations in several concentrated markets: 1,740 in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, 360 in California, 319 in Texas, and 12 in Guam.
The station divestiture was the largest retail divestiture in FTC history at the time. It was only part of the remedy: Exxon and Mobil also had to sell or transfer other assets, including an Exxon refinery in California, pipeline interests, terminals, and certain petroleum businesses. The merger was approved on November 30, 1999, and created ExxonMobil, reuniting two companies descended from the breakup of Standard Oil.