CINCINNATI -- Gilligan Oil Co. is no longer under contract related to a proposed acquisition of the AmeriStop convenience store chain, Pat Gilligan told The Business Courier of Cincinnati.
As reported in CSP Daily News yesterday, AmeriStop's parent, Petro Acquisitions Inc., is in receivership. The company owns or franchises about 140 AmeriStop stores in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Virginia.
Gilligan, founder and CEO of the Hyde Park, Ohio-based retail operator and franchiser, declined to discuss the matter further, but did not [image-nocss] rule out a future deal, said the report.
According to court documents in a lawsuit filed against Ameristop owner Petro Acquisitions Inc. by Cincinnati-based Walnut Investment Partners LP, Gilligan Oil had tentatively agreed to buy all of Petro Acquisitions shares for $8.7 million. The preliminary deal was detailed in a July 26 letter of intent, it said.
Walnut Partners, a minority owner of Petro Acquisitions, sued Petro Acquisitions and majority owner Donald R. Bloom LLC for allegedly failing to buy back Walnut's shares according to the terms of an earlier redemption agreement, the report said. It contended that Donald Bloom, Petro Acquisitions' president, improperly interfered with its negotiations with Gilligan, telling Gilligan "that Walnut did not have the right to sell all of Petro's shares and that Gilligan Oil had to separately negotiate with him," according to court documents cited by the newspaper.
Walnut said that Bloom's conduct is contrary to a March agreement between it and Bloom and that it threatened to unravel its deal with Gilligan Oil.
Gilligan Oil operates more than 40 Shell stations and convenience stores in the Cincinnati area as well as dozens of Sunoco and Exxon stations, mostly in the Columbus area and central Ohio. It bought more than 30 Cincinnati-area Shell locations from Shell Oil last year. It also operates Subway restaurants and Gill's car washes.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge William Mallory has appointed Leonard Eppel as receiver to manage and control Cold Spring, Ohio-based Petro Acquisitions' business. Mallory also reaffirmed Walnut's right to sell all of Petro Acquisitions' shares, subject to Bloom's approval, the report said.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.