Conditions On An Exxon Mobil Deal

One giant merger is done, but another is in doubt. On Nov. 30, the Federal Trade Commission approved Exxon's $81 billion acquisition of Mobil, creating an oil behemoth with combined fiscal 1998 revenues of $167 billion. But the deal has a price: the largest divestiture of assets ever ordered by the FTC, including 2,431 gas stations. And the FTC may not look so kindly on future deals: Staff analysts are recommending that the commission block the proposed merger of BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield Corp. because the combined companies would exert too much control over oil supplies on Alaska's North Slope.