MIDDAY UPDATE: Z buys Caltex chain, driving shares higher

MIDDAY UPDATE: Z buys Caltex chain, driving shares higher
By Paul McBeth June 2 (BusinessDesk) - Service station chain Z Energy will buy rival Caltex brand of stores from global oil giant Chevron for $785 million, boosting its national footprint by 147 outlets, and boosting its shares to a record. The stock climbed 18 percent to $6 at midday in Wellington, the highest since the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Infratil listed the chain in 2013. Wellington-based Z Energy expects to benefit through procurement, operating cost and supply chain efficiencies under a common ownership, it said. T...