JX Holdings, the largest oil refining company in Japan, plans to merge with its rival TonenGeneral Sekiyu by April 2017; the new company would operate three large refineries in the Tokyo Bay, control more than half of the Japanese gasoline market and operate more than 14,000 retail gasoline outlets in the country. The companies aim to reach a final deal by August 2016.
JX Holdings is the result of a merger between Nippon Oil and Nippon Mining Holdings in 2010 and has a market capitalisation of Yen 1,260 bn (US$10.22bn), more than double that of TonenGeneral. The companies had a combined revenue of Yen 14,300 bn (US$116bn) in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.
This announcement follows that of the merger between Japanese oil companies Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell Sekiyu, that would create the second largest oil refining company in Japan. The combined company would control around 28% of the refining market in Japan, behind JX Holdings (35%, under the current scope). The merged company is expected to start operations between October 2016 and April 2017.