A sealed bid auction of Fusion Oil’s assets is underway as part of a bankruptcy proceeding against the oil marketer by Comerica Bank.
The sale includes 41 gas stations and convenience stores in Michigan and Ohio. Some of the stations and stores are closed. Some still are open and operating. The properties were placed in receivership in April and Comerica has control of them. Tranzon LLC, a Carrollton, Ga., auction firm, is handing the sale of the properties, which might be sold as a package or individually. Sealed bids are being accepted until 3 p.m. Aug. 14.
A Michigan Court ordered the sale on July 12. (View the court order approving auction.) The majority of the stations are branded Sunoco with the rest operating under the Fusion Oil name. Some have fast-food outlets as part of their operation. The stations were owned by Hassan Harajli of Dearborn, who’s president of Romulus, Mich.-based Fusion Oil.
Nelson Ropke, attorney with Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone in Detroit, represents Comerica Bank in the matter, but said he couldn’t comment until he received clearance from his client.
Kelly Hagen, secretary-treasurer of Tranzon, told the Monroe (Mich.) News Fusion Oil and other defendants listed in the court order can re-bid on the properties once the highest bids are determined, a process she said is fairly standard. “Not always is the right to outbid given back to the defendant,” she said. “It’s what they wanted in this case.”
Among the properties is a closed Sunoco station in Luna Pier, Mich., which had a diesel fuel leak in mid-November. The leak produced a slick on Lake Erie and entered the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Mr. Harajli was charged with failure to maintain insurance on diesel fuel tanks.
Visit Tranzon.com for sale details.