DALLAS and TULSA, Okla. -- In a deal that brings the Sinclair brand to Empire Petroleum Partners LLC’s list of branded fuel partners, Empire and Arkansas Valley Cos. are merging their assets, the companies have announced.
This deal is the latest in a series of mergers and acquisitions for Dallas-based Empire. It merged with Taylor, Mich.-based Atlas Oil’s retail dealer business in 2015, acquired the wholesale distribution rights of Keeman Petroleum, Valdosta, Ga.; Triple A Fuels, Dallas; and Sunshine Fuel, Palm Beach, Fla., in 2016.
Arkansas Valley’s AVP Metro Petroleum LLC operates 137 retail outlets, including 12 company-owned and -operated Sinclair-branded Fiesta Mart c-stores in Oklahoma and 125 dealer-operated gas stations in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas.
The Fiesta Marts are located in Broken Arrow, Chouteau, Warner, Eufaula, Okemah and Tulsa, Okla.
The owner and founder of Tulsa-based Arkansas Valley, Weister Smith, will continue to be an integral part of Empire Petroleum’s growth plans in the Sooner State and surrounding states, said the companies.
“We welcome Weister to the Empire family, and look forward to working with him to continue to grow in his markets,” said Hank Heithaus, CEO of Empire Petroleum.
“After 40 years as a petroleum distributor, I found it time to partner with a company that I trusted and would want to continue to grow on the successes that we have experienced at Arkansas Valley,” said Smith. “We believe that Empire will be successful not only with the assets that we currently have in place, but will continue to grow well into the future.”
As reported in a McLane/CSP Daily News Flash, the addition of the Arkansas Valley retail dealer business increases Empire’s fuel volumes in Oklahoma while also strengthening its relationships with its branded partners, including ConocoPhillips and others.
Empire Petroleum is a motor fuels distributor of brands that include Chevron, Shell, Valero, ConocoPhillips, Marathon, CITGO, Texaco, Sunoco, BP, Exxon, Mobil and Gulf. It distributes motor fuel products to more than 1,300 gas stations in 27 states in the mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest.
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