Tosco to Buy Gas Stations From Exxon Mobil

The new Exxon Mobil Corp. said it agreed to sell 1,740 service stations to Tosco Corp. for $860 million. The move came just two days after Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. agreed to a Federal Trade Commission demand that they sell 2,431 stations over the next year as a condition of their merger. Separately, Exxon Mobil said it might eliminate more than the 9,000 jobs the companies had estimated when they announced their merger plans last December. Exxon Mobil also said that cost savings from the merger will probably exceed the officially estimated $2.8 billion. The service stations being acquired by Stamford, Conn.-based Tosco, an independent oil refiner, are all in Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. Tosco has 700 stations in Southern states, primarily under the 76 brand, and about 300 BP-Amoco stations. Exxon Mobil must still find a buyer for its 360 gas stations in California; Mobil must sell 319 stations in Texas; and Exxon must sell a refinery in Benicia, Calif. Exxon spokeswoman Marcia Zelinsky said the company has “identified a number of interested potential buyers” for the refinery but declined to identify them. Exxon Mobil shares fell 42 cents to close at $82.08 on the NYSE.