SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick, and PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- The Arthur Irving Family Trust has completed a transaction with the Jack Irving family in which the Arthur Irving trust has assumed full ownership of Canadian and U.S. refiner-marketer Irving Oil, the company has announced. This includes the company's more than 900 convenience stores in Canada and the U.S.
Irving Oil’s board of directors and leadership team, including President Ian Whitcomb and Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer Sarah Irving, will continue to execute the company’s established business plan and lead the strategic direction of the company, it said.
“Today is an important day for the future of our company,” said Arthur Irving, chairman of Irving Oil. “Irving Oil was started in 1924 by my father, K.C. Irving, and has grown to be a market leader. We are very proud of our company and the people who work with us. We are all looking forward to working together for the continued success of our business.”
The buyout represents a major change in the corporate holdings of New Brunswick's wealthiest family, according to a CBC report.
It is the latest step in the dividing up of what was once a single conglomerate built by family patriarch K.C. Irving. More than a decade ago, his three sons, J.K., Arthur and Jack, agreed to divide up the dozens of Irving companies among themselves, ending a web of cross-ownership. J.K. Irving's family gained complete ownership of the J.D. Irving Ltd. forestry and shipbuilding operations that it had managed, while Arthur was given control of Irving Oil, with a sizable stake in the company going to Jack.
Irving Oil, with Canadian headquarters in Saint John, New Brunswick, and U.S. headquarters in Portsmouth, N.H., operates a refinery in Saint John. It also operates Ireland’s only refinery. With a network of terminals in eastern Canada, New England and Ireland, it provides unbranded wholesale customers with gasoline, diesel, kerosene and heating oil.
More than 900 gas stations, convenience stores and travel plazas in eastern Canada and New England carry the Irving brand, including more than 335 in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.
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