DALLAS and ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- TACenergy has acquired fellow fuel distributor Desert Fuels. Terms of the deal between the two privately held companies were not disclosed.
TACenergy, a Dallas-based division of The Arnold Companies (TAC), has annual fuel volumes of more than 1.7 billion gallons per year. Its customers include unbranded gasoline and diesel retailers, industrial users, transportation, trucking, government, utilities, mining and construction businesses. Albuquerque, N.M.-based Desert Fuels Inc. distributes fuel in six states: New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, California and Michigan. It had owned 11 sites as recently as 2015, although it has since focused on wholesaling.
TACenergy plans to keep Desert Fuels’ key sales and customer service associates and open a new sales office in Albuquerque.
“We are so pleased to welcome [President J.J. Mancini] and the Desert Fuels team into the TAC family and look forward to servicing each new customer with the level of expertise they are accustomed to,” said TAC Chairman and CEO Greg Arnold.
In a “frequently asked questions” letter to clients, Desert Fuels said it was selling to stay competitive.
“Desert Fuels’ goal has always been to provide reliable supply, competitive prices and the very best customer service in new and innovative use of technology,” the letter says. “To continue to do this in the very competitive unbranded fuel world, we believe we need to be partnered with a more diversified company to take our team and supply to the next level.”
Current clients of Desert Fuels could see more attractive prices thanks to TACenergy’s more diversified supply, the company said.
“This acquisition sets up an unbeatable combination of the TACenergy supply, financial, IT, trading and geographic scale along with Desert Fuels’ technology expertise to better serve each customer while holding true to the Desert Fuels mission: to revolutionize the wholesale fuel industry,” said Mancini. Going forward, Mancini will consult for TACenergy from the New Mexico office.
With the acquisition, TACenergy aims to build up its customer base in the Southwest, with a focus on New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma. Fred Sloan, vice president and COO of TACenergy, said that the distributor’s existing customers and Desert Fuels’ clients should benefit from more supply resources.
“Enhancing our existing technology offerings with Desert Fuels’ refreshing approach to incorporate technology in the buying and delivery of wholesale fuel will be easily accomplished,” Sloan said.
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