DAYTON, Ohio -- As reported in CSP Daily News in mid-July, Tampa, Fla.-based Giant Oil Inc. plans to acquire all 32 company-owned BP stations in the Dayton, Ohio, market by the end of the year.
Giant Oil, which owns gas stations and convenience stores in Florida and Ohio as well as a wholesale fuel distribution operation in Florida, holds a contract to purchase the sites and would take over in November or early December if the deal goes as planned, owner Basem [image-nocss] Ali told The Dayton Business Journal.
Ali plans to renovate and expand the c-stores at some of the older locations, but declined to say how much the company would invest. He also declined to disclose the purchase price, number of stores the company owns or annual revenue, the report said.
In spite of the state's ailing economy, Giant Oil plans to break into its second Ohio market because Ali sees good things on the horizon. The company already operates in the Akron/Canton area. "We feel there's a growth around the I-75 corridor and we're hoping that down the road (the economy) will change," Ali told the newspaper. "We evaluated the properties and opportunities and we would like to be positioned in those areas."
Under the agreement, Giant Oil would continue to sell fuel under the BP brand, BP spokesperson Valerie Corr told the paper.
The deal, which affects about 260 workers, isn't unusual, the report said. Corr said the company regularly reviews its site network and occasionally sheds a group of stores. "This is not necessarily a template for what's going to happen everywhere, but for this market it was the right thing," she added. "We see sales like this as a growth strategy because these are people who are very experienced."
The 32 local BP locations include sites across the Dayton area as well as Springfield. As part of the upcoming deal, Giant Oil would also pick up the fuel distribution contracts of several local, independently owned BP stations, said the report.
Ali, who launched Giant Oil in 1995, hopes the purchase will allow the company to get a foot in the door of the local wholesale fuel market. He plans to open an office in Dayton by the end of the year, he told the paper.
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