NEW YORK - 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd. announced the purchase of 295 Australian gasoline filling stations from Mobil Oil Australia Pty. Ltd., "elevating the company to the nation??s largest independent fuel retailer," reports Bloomberg.

Last month Caltex Australia Ltd. backed off plans to purchase 302 stations from ExxonMobil for $300 million ($247 million U.S.) after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission "opposed the transaction on concerns it would lead to higher prices," notes the news source, adding that 7-Eleven??s acquisition would give the retailer "just under" 10 percent of the retail fuels market, according to 7-Eleven spokeswoman Tracy Hammon.

"This deal with Mobil will build on 7-Eleven??s position as the leader in the convenience retailing industry in Australia, taking the number of 7-Eleven stores from 400 to more than 650," 7-Eleven Chairman Russell Withers said.

7- Eleven had about 200 filling stations prior to the ExxonMobil transaction, according to Hammon, while Mobil had "an 11 percent share compared with the 16 percent outright share of Caltex and 23 percent it holds through a venture with Woolworths Ltd.," writes Bloomberg.

"We are pleased to have been able to reach agreement for the sale of our retail business to 7-Eleven," Mobil Fuels Director Kim MacMillan told the Business Review Australia. "7-Eleven has a strong focus on convenience retailing and has also established a well recognized position in the retail fuels market in Australia over the last decade."

MacMillan continued: "The Australian retail fuels market is highly competitive and challenging... Mobil is now a relatively small participant in that sector of the market following the extensive rationalization of its company owned service station network over the last few years. We continue to be a major fuel wholesaler to the commercial and industrial sectors of the market, including aviation, regional distributors and other independent resellers."