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August 28, 2006 9:50 AM, EDT

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il refiner Western Refining will acquire petroleum product manufacturer Giant Industries, the company said Monday in a release.

The combined company will be the fourth largest publicly-traded independent refiner and marketer in the United States, Western Refining said.

The acquisition, which includes Giant’s fleet of about 100 crude oil and refined-product transport trucks, will increase the company’s crude oil throughput capacity to about 216,000 barrels a day.

The sale is valued at about $1.5 billion and includes about $275 million of Giant’s outstanding debt, Western Refining said.