Hess To Sell Retail Business To Marathon Petroleum For $2.6 Bln Cash

(RTTNews) - Energy company Hess Corp. (HES) reported agreeing to sell its retail business to Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) for $2.6 billion in cash. Hess Retail is a chain of company operated gas stations and convenience stores along the East Coast with 1,342 locations.

The sale proceeds would be utilized for additional share buybacks and the firm has increased its existing share repurchase authorization from $4 billion to $6.5 billion. Since the beginning of the program in August 2013, the company has repurchased around $2.8 billion in stock.

Hess' Chief Executive stated, "The sale of our retail business marks the culmination of our strategic transformation into a pure-play exploration and production company."

The transaction may close before year-end 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.