The Federal Trade Commission has notified local gasoline distributor and retailer Aloha Petroleum Ltd. that the regulatory agency will file a lawsuit to block Aloha's planned acquisition of 18 O'ahu gas stations and part of a fuel import terminal from a Florida company.

Aloha said it was notified by the FTC by phone yesterday, and that it plans to contest the agency's attempt to block the transaction that had been scheduled for completion Friday.

Aloha anticipated acquiring the Mahalo-brand stations from Trustreet Properties Inc. for an undisclosed price. Trustreet was created by a merger involving US Restaurant Properties, which previously owned the Mahalo stations.

The FTC, according to Aloha, plans to seek a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in Hawai'i by tomorrow.

A reason for the FTC's decision was not provided, an Aloha spokeswoman said. FTC officials could not be reached late yesterday.

The agency and the state attorney general's office in May notified Trustreet that they were conducting a joint antitrust investigation into the deal, according to a Trustreet announcement.

An official with the state attorney general's office could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The proposed transaction would expand Aloha's station operations by more than a third and also make Aloha the sole owner of a Campbell Industrial Park fuel import terminal that now is owned equally by Aloha and Trustreet but operated by Aloha.

Bob Maynard, Aloha's president and CEO, said the "pro-competitive" acquisition would increase the company's competitive position in the market against bigger national and international companies.

"We were surprised and dismayed that the FTC would issue a decision that has great potential to hurt a small, local company," he said. "In a state where small business has been the backbone of the economy, an acquisition like this should be encouraged."

Maynard said Aloha has consistently offered lower gas prices than bigger competitors since 1977.

Aloha operates about 60 stations on O'ahu and the Big Island associated with the company's Island Mini-Mart convenience stores, as well as 7-Eleven, Fastop and other convenience store brands.