The battle between Global Partners and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) over the awarding of the contract for 18 service plazas to Applegreen continues, with a ruling in Applegreen’s favor and an emergency motion by Global Partners.
The Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General said there were “no findings related to MassDOT’s procurement, evaluation or operator selection processes” for the service plaza contract awarded to Dublin-based Applegreen, according to a letter dated Aug. 22 to MassDOT that Applegreen shared with CSP.
In June, MassDOT selected Applegreen to redevelop and operate Massachusetts’ 18 highway service plazas. Waltham, Massachusetts-based energy supplier and convenience-store retailer Global Partners was among the contenders not selected.
The Office of the Inspector General was prompted to consider the issue based on a formal complaint by losing bidder Global Partners, “who have engaged in a multi-faceted misinformation campaign to discredit the comprehensive, professionally supported, 15-month long RFP [request for proposal] process,” Applegreen said. “The letter instead highlights important steps that MassDOT and Applegreen should take to ensure that the lease, operations and oversight of the plaza operations meet key Commonwealth goals.”
- 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.
Meanwhile, Global Partners on Wednesday filed an emergency motion seeking an injunction in its lawsuit against MassDOT filed earlier this month, the company told CSP.
Global Partners’ motion, which it shared with CSP, alleges that “despite the impact to taxpayers of MassDOT’s decision to award a 35-year contract for the operation of highway travel service plazas to inferior bidder Applegreen MA Investments LLC (Applegreen), MassDOT persists in its failure to allow transparency regarding its bid selection process,” the company said. “The motion asks the Suffolk County Superior Court to order that MassDOT immediately produce all documents, including internal MassDOT communications, MassDOT communications with Applegreen and contractors it plans to use on the project, and information concerning potential selection committee member conflicts of interest."
“Time is of the essence,” said Sean Geary, chief legal officer at Global Partners. “MassDOT’s deadline for signing the lease with Applegreen was originally set for mid-November 2025. However, we recently received information indicating MassDOT intends to advance the lease signing to mid-September 2025.”
Bob Etchingham, cofounder and executive chairman of Applegreen, said, “With no adverse findings and thoughtful recommendations on how Applegreen can best partner with the state, we are moving forward to create not only world-class service plaza operations, but a sustainable, predictable source of revenue for the Commonwealth. Our team is looking to the future with confidence and a shared sense of purpose.”
Applegreen on Aug. 22 said it issued a cease-and-desist letter to Global Partners in a dispute between the two companies over a lease to redevelop service plazas in Massachusetts.
The letter, shared with CSP by Applegreen, demanded Global Partners “immediately halt its ongoing smear campaign and dissemination of misleading financial claims.”
Energy supplier and convenience-store retailer Global Partners on Aug. 11 filed a lawsuit against 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 a service plaza lease to Applegreen. In July, Global Partners started pushing for a formal oversight hearing to get answers from MassDOT.
Global Partners is a master limited partnership (MLP) that distributes fuels to wholesalers, retailers and commercial customers. In addition, the company owns, operates or supplies about 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.
Applegreen on Aug. 22 launched the website www.TellTheTruthGlobal.com, which the company said “highlights not only the inaccurate and disparaging statements that have been made about Applegreen, but all the ways in which Global has misrepresented its bid.”
Applegreen said comparison of the two financial offers “shows that when compared accurately in today’s dollars and including both capital expenses and rent, the difference between the two bids is $19 million dollars.”
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