HONOLULU -- Aloha Petroleum Ltd. has agreed to buy the retail and terminal operations in Hawaii of Shell Oil Products US in a deal that would give Aloha Petroleum added Neighbor Island markets, reported The Honolulu Advertiser.
The company signed an agreement with Equilon Enterprises LLC, dba Shell Oil Products US and Honolulu Terminal LLC, to acquire Shell's assets, some of which are subject to third-party options to purchase or rights of first refusal, added a report by Pacific Business News.
Aloha Petroleum yesterday issued a statement obtained [image-nocss] by the newspaper saying that it had agreed to the purchase, but it did not disclose the price or details of what it was acquiring.
The exact number of stations that Shell is selling to Aloha is unknown, said the report.
A closing date will be determined after regulatory reviews and other conditions of the sale are completed, said Pacific Business News.
Shell is expected to comply with third-party contractual obligations, Aloha said in a prepared statement.
Aloha Petroleum primarily operates on Oahu and the Big Island, with more than 50 fueling locations under the Aloha and Mahalo names as well as more than 30 Aloha Island Mart convenience stores.
The company, owned primarily by private U.S. investors, also supplies gasoline to Costco, the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEX) and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) as the state's largest independently owned gasoline distributor and retailer.
Bill Green, a longtime Honolulu gas station operator and consultant to Kahala Shell, told the Advertiser that the transaction had been expected since last year. "Basically, the industry has across the board decided to get out of downstream marketing," said Green, who noted Shell has been exiting such markets on the Mainland.
He said it was expected that Shell would sell out to a jobber. He said Aloha was one of the companies that had most to gain from such a purchase and taking over the assets since it gains terminal distribution on Maui and Kauai.
Green said he didn't know how many stations Shell owned directly in the state, but that it sells product to many more that are operated by Shell dealers, the report added.
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