Viva shares hit record high Australian M&A deals continue to...

	  Viva shares hit record high 

	  Australian M&A deals continue to rise 

	  Company aims to own more than 1,000 stores 

(Adds deal detail and Australian M&A activity)

Australian fuel supplier Viva Energy Group Ltd (VEA) shares shot to a record high on Wednesday after it said it would pay A$1.15 billion ($777 million) for a convenience store chain, as a strong start to 2023 for corporate deals continues Down Under.

Viva, the country's largest oil refiner which also operates fuel stations, said it would buy the On the Run (OTR) network of stores, continuing a push to expand its convenience store network and adapt to the shift toward electric vehicles.

"As our stores increasingly become retail destinations, we expect convenience earnings will grow and reduce our dependency on traditional fuels," CEO Scott Wyatt said in a statement.

The company's shares jumped 4.6% to A$3.22 in a flat broader market (xjo) .

Viva's purchase continues a strong run of takeovers in Australia, a hot spot for deals compared to the rest of the Asia Pacific region where corporate activity remains subdued.

There were $36.5 billion worth of announced deals in the first quarter, up 3.5% compared to the same time last year, according to Refinitiv data.

In September last year, Viva said it would buy convenience stores from Coles Group Ltd (COL) , giving it a bigger store network than arch rival Ampol Ltd (ALD) .

The deal to buy OTR, which has a network of 205 convenience retail stores, will see Viva become the biggest non-government employer in South Australia, the company said.

Viva, owner of the Shell service station chain in Australia, has set a target of running more than 1,000 stores in the next few years.

The OTR acquisition will be funded via A$1 billion of debt and working capital, and an A$150 million share issue to OTR's owners.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023. ($1 = 1.4808 Australian dollars) (([email protected]; Twitter: https://twitter.com/damnit_saladin;))