Dive Brief:
- Fuel distributor Petroleum Marketing Group (PMG) has acquired all 19 c-stores from Holt Oil — a family owned chain based in Fayetteville, North Carolina — for an undisclosed price, according to a Wednesday press release.
- Falls Church, Virginia-based PMG, which currently supports a network of more than 1,200 c-stores on the East coast, brings its c-store count in North Carolina from one to 20 through the acquisition.
- The move highlights another fuel distributor growing its c-store network in the U.S., a trend that has gained momentum over the past year.
Dive Insight:
Holt had “very specific guidelines” when choosing a buyer for its 19 stores, President Louis Cox said in the announcement. He did not clarify what said guidelines were or what qualified PMG as its buyer.
“I am confident that we made the right choice with PMG,” he said.
Founded in 1930 under the name Crystal Oil, Holt originally operated a few gasoline stations and later moved into the home heating oil business before increasing its focus on gas stations in the late 1950s. Today, numerous Holt c-stores offer foodservice from Subway; Hunt Brothers Pizza; F’real shakes and smoothies; and other QSR brands. Prior to the PMG acquisition, it received fuel from Exxon, BP, Mobile and Liberty.
This marks PMG’s second acquisition this year. In January, the company purchased three locations in Richmond, Virginia, from Davis Travel and Express centers, which included a total of eleven QSRs, several Exxon and Mobil-branded fueling stations and two truck rest stops.
PMG, which was founded in 2001, began making major acquisitions in 2004 when it purchased 150 sites in Maryland and Virginia. The company then added over 500 more by the end of 2012, and over the next several years, acquired more locations throughout the East coast, including in airport plazas at several international airports.
Today, PMG serves 1,200 gas stations on the East Coast, making it one of the largest wholesalers and distributors of petroleum products on the East Coast, according to its website.
PMG’s acquisition of Holt and other brands this year continues a run of fuel distributors building up their c-store networks.
After selling about 700 of its company-operated c-stores in 2007, BP took full ownership of Midwest chain Thornton’s in August 2021, including about 200 c-stores in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Florida. Earlier this summer, BP brought its Ampm c-store brand to the Bronx, New York City — its first store on the East Coast, with three additional locations scheduled for that area.
In May 2021, CrossAmerica Partners acquired 106 stores from 7-Eleven in a deal worth $263 million, which it has reaped numerous benefits from to date.
