Top Line acquires Total’s Visayas assets

Cebu-based fuel distributor Top Line Business Development Corp. has revved up its expansion into the Visayas with the P925-million acquisition of a depot, fuel tankers, and retail stations to grow its network by almost fourfold to 48 from only 10.

- By JAMES A. LOYOLA

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the firm said it has acquired 38 retail fuel stations, a two-million-liter depot facility, and 15 fuel tanker trucks from Total Oil & Gas Resources Inc. (TOGRI) and Ballston Metro Corp. (BMC).

The company is investing approximately 925 million for the acquisition and renovation of the stations, accelerating the rollout of its retail arm Light Fuels in Visayas.

“As part of our flexible strategy for expansion, we explored opportunistic acquisitions of retail fuel stations to fast-track the growth of our Light Fuels brand.

“This acquisition supports our broader long-term growth objectives by enabling faster market entry and operational scalability,” Top Line Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eugene Erik Lim.

Top Line is paying P180 million for the assets of TOGRI and BMC, with P120 million for TOGRI, which has 25 fuel stations, and 260 million for BMC, which is selling 13 fuel outlets.