Global Partners LP, owner of the Alltown Fresh, Honey Farms, XtraMart and other convenience-store brands, said Nov. 9 it is buying 25 liquid energy terminals from Houston-based Motiva Enterprises LLC for $305.8 million.
The terminals have a shell capacity of 8.4 million barrels, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company said.
Global Partners, which in September opened its first company-owned EV charging station, currently owns or leases 24 liquid energy terminals in states throughout the Northeast and in North Dakota and Oregon, the company said. This acquisition will significantly increase its terminal capacity and geographic reach to cover the Atlantic Coast and the U.S. Gulf.
Eric Slifka, Global Partners’ president and CEO, said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call Nov. 9 that the company considers this “a transformational deal for Global.”
“The addition of the Motiva terminals diversifies our terminaling operations into new geographies along the Atlantic Coast in the Southeastern U.S. and in Texas, providing platforms for growth in supply, wholesale, commercial and retail,” he said.
- Global Partners is No. 24 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
The strategically located assets have a direct connection to a critical network of docks and refined product pipelines—Colonial, Plantation, Enterprise, Explorer and Magellan, Global Partners said. Upon closing, Global Partners’ storage capacity will increase about 85% to 18.3 million barrels based on storage capacity as of Sept. 30.
“We think it’s going to put us in a position to expand that business as well as potentially being more competitive on any retail acquisitions,” Slifka said. “We also think there’s an opportunity around supply for these assets as well.”
He added that the acquisition “is an exceptional opportunity to deliver on our strategy and create value by expanding our footprint into areas with increasing population centers. As a premier operator of terminals, wholesale distribution and retail marketing, we believe these terminals allow us to leverage our expertise in supply and give us a platform for growth in all aspects of our business.”
“The transaction is backed by a 25-year agreement with Motiva, our anchor tenant, that includes minimum annual revenue commitments,” Slifka added. “This acquisition, underpinned by the strength of a long-term throughput agreement, will provide the potential for growth into the future.”
Motiva refines, distributes and markets petroleum products throughout the Americas. The company’s Port Arthur Manufacturing Complex in Port Arthur, Texas, is comprised of North America’s largest refinery with a crude capacity of 640,000 barrels a day, the country’s largest base oil plant, and an adjacent chemical plant.
Jeff Rinker, Motiva’s president and CEO, said, “With the divestiture of our product terminals, we will increase our focus on growing our core manufacturing and logistics centered around Port Arthur Manufacturing Complex while continuing to strengthen and grow our marketing channels.”
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and the companies expect it to close by year-end, Global Partners said.
Global Partners, an integrated storage, distribution and retail liquid energy company, owns, leases or supplies about 1,700 convenience-store locations across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, of which 353 are company owned.
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