KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying the remaining 20% of the Pilot truck stop business it does not already own from the Haslam family, the two announced on Tuesday.
Berkshire confirmed it now owns all of Pilot Travel Centers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The sale follows the settlement of a Delaware lawsuit earlier this month that pitted Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam against Buffett’s Berkshire over the Pilot stake's value.
“While this has certainly been an emotional decision for us, it is one we felt was right for our family at this time," founder Jim "Big Jim" Haslam II said in a prepared statement. "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 Haslam have given millions of dollars over the decades to East Tennessee causes and institutions, including the University of Tennessee.
Haslam II's son, Jimmy Haslam, the CEO and chairman of Pilot Corp., said the family appreciates all who have supported Pilot Flying J through the years.
"We will always consider the Pilot Flying J team as family, and we wish them success as they continue to develop the best travel center network in North America and keep America moving,” he said in a prepared statement.
Berkshire purchased an initial 38.6% stake in PTC in 2017 for $2.76 billion. The two sides agreed at that time that Berkshire would take control of PTC by acquiring an additional 41.4% interest in January 2023. The price tag for that control purchase was roughly $8.2 billion.
The 2017 agreements also gave Pilot Corp. an annual 60-day opportunity, beginning Jan. 1 this year, to sell its remaining 20% interest in PTC to Berkshire. The sale price would be calculated using PTC’s earnings in the prior year.
With the first sale deadline approaching, however, the two sides accused each other of trying to manipulate the company’s financial records in order to affect the price Berkshire would have to pay for the Haslam family’s remaining 20% stake in the truck-stop chain.
PTC, headquartered in Knoxville, is a diversified fuel company that operates hundreds of travel centers, primarily under the names Pilot or Flying J, in 43 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. Haslam II started the business in 1958 with the purchase of a gas station in Gate City, Virginia. In the ensuing decades, he acquired acquired Speedway, Mr. Fuel and Speedway-Wilco among other chains.
“We will always consider the Pilot Flying J team as family, and we wish them success as they continue to develop the best travel center network in North America and keep America moving,” Jimmy Haslam said in the statement.