Highway service plaza operator Applegreen will not be redeveloping and operating 18 state highway service plazas in Massachusetts in a $750 million project, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
In June, MassDOT awarded Applegreen a 35-year lease to raze and rebuild nine rest stops and refurbish nine others across Massachusetts. Since that time, Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global Partners LP, one of the losing bidders for the contract, has fought the awarding of the lease.
In a statement shared with CSP, the Dublin-based Applegreen said, “After three months of good faith negotiations, Applegreen and MassDOT have not reached agreement on definitive terms for the redevelopment of 18 motorway service areas in Massachusetts. The open issues have significant implications for the commercial viability of the concession award. These commercial realities have been coupled with costly and continued litigation threats from an opposing bidder that have jeopardized the project’s timeline and financing.”
“In light of these circumstances, Applegreen has terminated ongoing lease discussions,” the statement continued. “As the largest and most-respected motorway service operator in the United States, Applegreen regrets that it was not able to bring its world-class operating expertise to the Commonwealth.”
- Global Partners is No. 25 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count. Applegreen is No. 47.
“This project has always been about delivering the best experience for the drivers and customers who use our service plazas,” Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in a statement. “After a comprehensive, transparent selection process, additional negotiations were always expected between MassDOT and Applegreen to provide the best possible value for taxpayers. It is now clear that Applegreen is no longer the right partner to deliver on this project. Our focus is on moving forward to deliver the highest quality service plazas as quickly as possible for the people of Massachusetts.”
Eric Slifka, CEO and president, Global Partners, said in a statement, “Applegreen’s decision to walk away underscores the very concerns raised for months: their proposal was never financially sound and never in the best interests of the Commonwealth.”
He continued, “Independent reviews by KPMG and MassDOT’s own experts found that Applegreen’s terms failed to satisfy the state’s revenue goals, falling hundreds of millions of dollars short of the guaranteed rent Global Partners committed, leaving the state’s budget short from day one. Their withdrawal confirms those risks were real. And with troubling questions about conflicts of interest and ethics violations still unresolved, it is clear Applegreen was the wrong choice for Massachusetts. Global Partners has been rooted in Massachusetts for four generations. We are prepared to step in with a proven, low-risk transition plan that guarantees $1.5 billion in rent, and delivers on clean energy, diversity, and community commitments from day one. This process has been difficult for all involved, and taxpayers have already lost valuable time. We stand ready to move forward, honestly, transparently and in the best interests of our Commonwealth.”
Global Partners on Sept. 15 filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop MassDOT from executing its lease with Applegreen. The suit was filed in Suffolk Superior Court.
The motion alleges that the procurement was compromised by illicit communications, undisclosed conflicts of interest and violations of Massachusetts procurement and ethics laws, Global Partners said in a release.
In addition, Global Partners on Aug. 8 sued MassDOT, accusing the agency of willfully violating the Massachusetts Public Records Law by failing to provide in a timely manner key documents related to the awarding of the service plaza lease to Applegreen.
On Aug. 22, Applegreen sent a cease-and-desist letter to Global Partners, demanding it “immediately halt its ongoing smear campaign and dissemination of misleading financial claims.”
The letter demanded Global Partners “immediately halt its ongoing smear campaign and dissemination of misleading financial claims.”
In February, Global Partners submitted a proposal to provide for the generation of about $1.5 billion in guaranteed revenue for MassDOT, according to court documents. The company said its proposal provided for about $900 million in guaranteed revenue “over and above” Applegreen’s proposal.
A major highway service plaza operator in the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Applegreen operates about 440 locations and has more than 700 branded food and beverage offers, and 1,385 EV charging ports serving millions of travelers. The company operates 113 service plazas in the United States.
Global Partners is a master limited partnership (MLP) that distributes fuels to wholesalers, retailers and commercial customers. In addition, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company owns, operates or supplies approximately 1,700 gas stations and convenience stores across the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and Texas. C-store brands include Alltown Fresh, Honey Farms and XtraMart.
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