Shareholders of Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc. voted Tuesday to approve the merger of their companies, a $39.5 billion deal that creates the worlds fifth-largest oil company.
Officials have already announced plans to create a global lubricants business within the downstream division of ChevronTexaco Corp. That business is headed by Shariq Yosufazai, former president of lubricants for Caltex Corp. It unites the international lubes businesses of Chevron, Texaco and Caltex, a joint venture that the two companies formed 65 years ago to operate in Asia, Africa and Australia.
The lubricants business will be the worlds third-largest, according to Fuchs Petrolub AG, ranking behind ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
Chevron and Texaco closed on the merger after the shareholder votes, 12 months after announcing plans for the union. ChevronTexaco will be based at Chevrons headquarters, in San Francisco, until moving to San Ramon, Calif., in the second half of next year.
The new lubricants business has yet to announce major strategic changes.