TOLEDO, Ohio -- The Lyden Co. announced late yesterday that its retail gasoline joint venture Truenorth Energy LLC has acquired 109 Shell-branded sites in the greater Chicago area from its partner, Shell Oil Products US. Residents in Chicago will continue to see Shell yellow throughout the region as operation and supply of the sites will continue under the Shell brand. According to a confidentiality agreement between the parties, the purchase price was not disclosed.
The Lyden Co., originally based in Youngstown, Ohio, has been providing gasoline to customers in Ohio [image-nocss] for more than 90 years, it said. For more than 10 years, it has been a 50% owner of Truenorth along with Shell. Truenorth operates and/or supplies 212 sites in Ohio and southwestern Michigan.
"We pride ourselves on providing what our customers need: fast, friendly, clean service. The opportunity to expand into the Chicago market is exciting and a challenge we look forward to," said chief executive officer Geoff Lyden.
"This acquisition will grow the joint venture by 50%, as well as double our real-estate holdings," he added.
In addition to the Chicago acquisition, Lyden announced the groundbreaking of The Lyden Co.'s new corporate center in Brecksville, Ohio.
"We have purchased 22 acres and will start construction of our corporate office and transportation center this summer with expectations of completion by summer, 2011. This will consolidate our Youngstown, Cleveland and Toledo offices," said Lyden.
"These are exciting times for the Lyden family and our 1,000 employees," he said.
Shell Oil Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Co., Houston, is a leader in the refining, transportation and marketing of fuels and has a network of approximately 6,100 branded gas stations in the western United States.
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