After resolving a public billionaire brouhaha between the Haslam family and Berkshire Hathaway — previously led by financial guru Warren Buffett — the matter of ownership and value of Pilot truck stops has been settled out of court.
“Berkshire Hathaway now owns 100 percent of Pilot Travel Centers,” according to a Berkshire statement, “effective today.”
Under the direction of Jimmy Haslam III, the family best known for its NFL ownership of the Cleveland Browns recently sold its remaining 20 percent stake in Pilot Travel Centers. The settlement ended a nasty bout of finger-pointing, with both parties crying foul. Allegations of financial irregularities underscored a process that appeared to be headed for a Delaware courtroom. A trial would likely have resulted in Warren Buffett’s successor, Berkshire Hathaway executive Greg Abel, taking the stand against the Haslam family.
Ranked as the largest chain of travel centers in North America, Pilot Travel Centers have upwards of 750 locations, mainly under the Pilot or Flying J monikers. Founded 65 years ago with a single gas station, the family-owned organization will no longer be operated by someone in the Haslam family.
“Pilot started with one gas station 65 years ago, and because of the dedicated and exceptional team members we have had throughout our history, it is now an industry leader,” Jimmy Haslam III reportedly stated. “While this has certainly been an emotional decision for us, it is one we felt was right for our family at this time. We look forward to continuing to support our life-long home of Knoxville, Tennessee, and to furthering our deep commitment and philanthropy throughout the region that we all love.”
The buyout of the Pilot brand began in 2017 when Berkshire spent billions to start the takeover. By 2023, it had spent upwards of $11 billion to gain a majority stake. But the remaining 20 percent had to be bought within a 60-day annual window, per agreement. A filing by Berkshire listed the Haslam non-controlling interest at $3.37 billion. The Haslam family claimed that Berkshire had purposefully undervalued their stake in the company to reduce the cost of a buyout.
The deal included a clause that the remaining shares would be valued at 10 times the travel centers’ annual earnings. Differences in accounting practices nearly derailed the completion of the process that spanned almost seven years.
Sources:
The problem with PFJ, T/A & Petro is they only care about what the bottom dollar they will make, they do not care about who provides them with the billions of dollars. These truck stops have always been chitty compared to Loves who leads the industry with their cleanliness, variety of foods, after hours availability of food for night drivers, overall cleanliness of showers and restrooms and truck parking spaces.
Now I am not saying Loves doesn’t care about the bottom line dollar but they have made big efforts in reinvesting their profits back in the truck stops to make them better over all…The others have not, it’s been the opposite…they want more money in their pockets than the others. The only reason I go to PFJ is because of employer so if I have to then it’s about the points to get free stuff.
Went to the FJ on i95 exit 29 to get a shower and I would have been better off standing outside with the hose! That place is disgusting! Then the trashy truck drivers throw piss bottles and trash bags in the parking lot….would hate to see what their homes look like! Then you have the inconsiderate trashy truck driver that parks on the fuel island and goes inside, walks around, gets a shower! Whenever I see it I will call the local police so that they issue an illegal parking ticket!
Anyways…..IMO….if you can or have the choice….go to loves!