Liberty Oil Explained

Industry:Petroleum
Foundation:1995
Founder:David Golberger
David Wieland
Location City:Melbourne
Location Country:Australia
Num Locations:284
Num Locations Year:2022
Parent:Viva Energy
Website:www.libertyoil.com.au

Liberty Oil is an Australian petroleum distributor and retailer. It is a subsidiary of Viva Energy.

History

Liberty Oil was founded in 1995 by David Goldberger and David Wieland, who had previously founded Solo in 1974, before selling it to Ampol in 1989. Goldberger and Wieland had been subject to a ten year non-compete clause however this was ruled void by the Trade Practices Commission when Ampol merged with Caltex.[1]

In July 2001, Liberty leased 69 of its sites to Woolworths which were rebranded as Woolworths Plus Petrol.[2] [3] At this stage it had an 8% market share of the Australian petrol market.[4] [5]

In August 2014, Viva Energy purchased a 50% shareholding, taking full ownership in February 2019.[6] [7] [8] [9] As part of Viva Energy taking full ownership, Liberty Oil Convenience was established as a new joint venture to operate the existing Liberty retail network with Viva Energy owning 50% (non-controlling), and Goldberger and Wieland the balance.[10] Viva will gain rights to fully acquire the joint venture in 2025.[11]

As Viva Energy also operates Shell-branded stations in Australia, Liberty accepts the Shell Card used in Shell stations.[12], it operates 284 service stations.[13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oil twins head back into the big league. Australian Financial Review. 11 November 1996. https://web.archive.org/web/20221002081243/https://www.afr.com/companies/oil-twins-head-back-into-the-big-league-19961111-kb0b3. 2 October 2022. live.
  2. Web site: Woolworths Plus Petrol Leases 69 Liberty Oil Outlets. Woolworths. 6 July 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20050622162441/http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au//news/mediareleases/publicdocuments/06-07-2001_a.asp. 22 June 2005. dead.
  3. Web site: Woolworths Plus Petrol Leases 69 Liberty Oil Outlets. Australian Securities Exchange. Woolworths. 6 July 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20221013065048/https://www.asx.com.au/asx/v2/statistics/displayAnnouncement.do?display=text&issuerId=1672&announcementId=408399&documentDate=2001-07-06&documentNumber=238533. 13 October 2022. live.
  4. Web site: Liberty's Davids to do a deal with Goliath. Australian Financial Review. 20 July 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20221002080243/https://www.afr.com/companies/libertys-davids-do-a-deal-with-goliath-20010720-ka45z. 2 October 2022. live.
  5. Web site: Battle of the titans. Australian Financial Review. 2 September 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20221001084442/https://www.afr.com/companies/battle-of-the-titans-20040902-ka7uy. 1 October 2022. live.
  6. Web site: Vitol's Viva Energy buys stake in Australian fuel supplier]. Reuters. 25 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20221002002105/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vitol-australia-idUKKBN0GP0HJ20140825. 2 October 2022. live.
  7. Web site: Viva Energy upgrades the Shell business, targets Liberty stake. Convenience & Impulse Retailing. 11 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20221002002427/https://www.c-store.com.au/viva-energy-upgrades-the-shell-business-targets-liberty-stake/. 2 October 2022. live.
  8. Web site: Viva Energy set sights on dropping petrol prices as it buys out Liberty Oil. Sydney Morning Herald. 27 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20221002002649/https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/viva-energy-set-sights-on-dropping-petrol-prices-as-it-buys-out-liberty-oil-20190227-p510il.html. 2 October 2022. live.
  9. Web site: Viva Energy's proposed acquisition of Liberty Oil's wholesale business not opposed. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. 10 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20221002001352/https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20191010/pdf/449c7lm49hbwr0.pdf. 2 October 2022. live.
  10. Web site: About Us. Liberty Oil Convenience. 14 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20211020154242/https://www.libertyconvenience.com.au/about-us/. 20 October 2021. live.
  11. Web site: Viva Energy to acquire Coles Express. Australian Securities Exchange. Viva Energy. 21 September 2022.
  12. Web site: Liberty-Shell Affinity Card. Liberty Oil. 14 October 2022.
  13. Web site: Contact Us. Liberty Oil. 14 October 2022.