The Tánaiste, Ms Mary Harney TD, has cleared the acquisition by Maxol of the Estuary Group under national mergers and takeovers legislation.
The Tánaiste made the decision following receipt by her of a report from the Competition Authority recommending that proposal should be allowed to proceed without conditions.
She said she referred the proposal to the Competition Authority for investigation on July 26th 2002 and the Authority reported last Friday.
The Maxol and Estuary Groups are engaged in the importation, storage, distribution, sale and marketing of a range of oil and petroleum products.
While Maxol operates throughout the State, Estuary operates mainly in the south, southwest and west of Ireland.
