Moeve and Galp Cancel €18 Billion Intra-European Oil Merger

✦ Meridian Analysis

Moeve, Spain’s second‑largest refiner, and Galp, Portugal’s leading oil group, have announced that talks to integrate their downstream businesses have ended without an agreement. The rumoured €18 billion operation would have combined the two firms’ refining, petrochemical and retail networks through a two‑step spin‑off and merger: each company would have segregated its industrial assets into an “IndustrialCo” and its retail stations into a “RetailCo”, before swapping the like‑for‑like businesses to create two platforms. The logic for both parties was to build scale sufficient to rival Repsol in the Iberian market, while preserving the downstream focus that now dominates their balance sheets after recent upstream divestments. The breakdown was attributed to divergent asset valuations, the geopolitical situation, and Portuguese sovereign concerns over the Sines refinery. Meridian reported that Moeve was expecting to close a merger with Galp within the year. Moeve’s recent activity in green hydrogen – a 29 % stake sale to Hy24 and Cofides reported on 18 September – was noted. What remains undisclosed are the final valuation figures each side placed on the industrial and retail portfolios, the structure of any financing that would have underpinned the €18 billion price tag, and the identity of financial advisers involved. Observers will watch for any renewed overtures and for any formal statements from competition authorities that could further shape the outlook for intra‑European oil mergers.

The Meridian Weekly