An Engen fuel station in Mombasa. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NMG
Employees of oil marketer Engen Kenya Limited have gone to court
seeking to block the company’s buyout by the parent of its rival Vivo
Energy Kenya, fearing job losses from the merger of the two local
petroleum dealers.
The pending transaction is part of a
larger deal involving the oil marketer’s parent companies. UK-based
Vivo Energy Plc made an all-stock deal to acquire 10 African operations
of Engen Holdings including the Kenyan subsidiary.
“In
addition, on May 2, 2018 the company became aware that some employees of
Engen Kenya Limited (with 18 service stations in Kenya of the 307
stations in the Engen portfolio) had filed a claim seeking among other
things an injunction against the transfer of Engen Kenya Limited to the
group,” Vivo Energy Plc said in a regulatory filing.
Vivo
and Engen are taking legal advice and intend to contest the claim or
seek an amicable outcome with the employees in question, the
multinational said, adding that the two parties will continue to work to
resolve the issues prior to the completion of the transaction. “If the
company is unable to resolve them to its satisfaction it may, among
other things, look to exercise its rights and remedies under the share
sale and purchase agreement, which, depending on the circumstances,
could include exercising its right to terminate the share sale and
purchase agreement,” Vivo said.
If the deal is completed, Engen service stations in Kenya will be rebranded to Shell in accordance with Vivo’s Shell licence.
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