Murphy Oil Completes Retail Business Spinoff

Murphy Oil is about to become a pair of separate, publicly traded companies. The company announced that it has completed the spinoff of Murphy USA, its fuel retail/convenience store arm. This was effected by a stock issue, in which Murphy USA shares were distributed to existing holders of the parent company's stock. The latter received one share of Murphy USA for every four shares held in Murphy Oil as of Aug. 21.

In the press release announcing the news, Murphy Oil quoted its CEO, Steve Cosse, as saying that his post-spinoff company "will move forward... as a focused exploration and production company with a strong portfolio of global assets."

Murphy USA will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange beginning on Tuesday under the ticker symbol MUSA. The company has more than 1,100 stores located in 23 states.