The Biggest Winners in the $23 Billion Marathon-Andeavor Deal

April 30, 2018, 9:15 PM UTC

Marathon Petroleum’s $23.3 billion acquisition of Andeavor will create the largest U.S. oil refiner by capacity—and pad the pockets of some corporate insiders.

The transaction, announced on Monday, values Andeavor at about $152.27 a share, about 24% above the company’s Friday closing stock price. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2018, if it gets regulatory and shareholder approval.

One of the big winners in the acquisition is Paul Foster, who holds nearly 6.5 million shares in Andeavor, according to recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Foster is the founder of Western Refining, an El Paso, Tex. company that he bought out of bankruptcy in the 1990s. Western Refining was acquired by Tesoro, which later rebranded as Andeavor, for $6.4 billion in 2017. Foster’s shares in Andeavor are valued at more than $988 million.

Other insiders who are big winners in this deal include Andeavor board member Jeff Stevens and CEO Greg Goff. Stevens owns nearly 1.2 million shares of Andeavor stock, which are now valued at more than $182 million. Goff holds 764,170 shares, an amount that includes 151,513 options to acquire common stock and 620 shares held under the Andeavor 401k plan, that are valued at more than $116 million.

The biggest Andeavor shareholder is The Vanguard Group, which holds a 15% stake worth more than $2.4 billion, according to SEC filings.