Considering the deal isn’t actually closed yet, nothing formulation wise has changed. And people are over thinking this. As this deal will take probably ~1 year to formally close.
Retail pricing varies a lot on deals made with retailers, how much volume they want to move that quarter, felt competition on the shelf, contract volume commitments, etc.
That’s why the Mobil and sopus deals can get silly at times. They’re literally losing money on it per quart. But, they have to move base oil and hit metrics. So they’ll lower the price or run a super rebate, etc. Valvoline is no different. When they contract gallons, they have to move them.