Pilot buying Marathon's stake in travel centers

Knoxville-based Pilot Corp. said it is selling 47.5 percent interest in Pilot Travel Centers to CVC Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount.

The Trucker News Services

10/1/2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Pilot Corp. said Tuesday it is purchasing Marathon Oil Corp.'s 50 percent stake in Pilot Travel Centers for $700 million.

Pilot also announced it is taking on a private equity partner that will own nearly 50 percent of the Knoxville travel center and convenience store operator.

Knoxville-based Pilot Corp. said it is selling 47.5 percent interest in Pilot Travel Centers to CVC Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount.

Marathon, headquartered in Houston, is a major supplier of fuel to Pilot Travel Centers and said that following the sale it expects to remain one of Pilot's main suppliers.

Pilot Travel Centers, formed in 2001, operate more than 300 locations in 40 states and one in Ontario, Canada. It supplies about 10 percent of truck diesel fuel used in the country, which makes the company the largest fuel supplier to the trucking industry.

According to The Knoxville News-Sentinel, CVC Capital Partners is an international private equity company with $45 billion under management. It has 19 offices in the United States, Asia and Europe.

The announcement came Tuesday after financial markets closed.