Phillips 66, a U.S. refiner, has announced its intention to sell its JET brand gas stations at 1,270 sites in Austria, Germany, and the U.K., generating €3 billion (about $3.2 billion). The sale is part of a multiyear cost-cutting project that the company has been working on since late 2023 when hedge fund Elliott Investment Management acquired a $1 billion stake in Phillips 66 and called for a refocus on the refining business and reduction in operating costs.
In December 2023, Elliott sent an activist letter to the refiner warning that if sufficient progress was not made towards cost-cutting goals, they would push for management changes and the sale of the company’s stake in Chevron Phillips Chemicals (CPChem), as well as its European convenience stores and other non-operated midstream assets. The sale of the JET gas stations follows similar moves in the industry by TotalEnergies and Shell who completed the sale of their petrol stations in Germany and Netherlands respectively while announcing plans to divest approximately 1,000 of their petrol stations to focus on establishing electric vehicle charging stations.
The decision to sell the JET brand gas stations is part of a strategic shift for Phillips 66 as it seeks to optimize its portfolio and strengthen its core refining business. With this move, Phillips 66 aims to generate significant revenue while also focusing on reducing operating costs through cost-cutting measures such as selling off non-core assets.