Motiva Enterprises LLC, marketer of Shell-branded gasoline in the Eastern U.S., reached a deal to sell 18 gas stations and convenience stores in Connecticut to CPD Parent Properties LLC, a subsidiary of Chestnut Petroleum Distributors Inc., a New Paltz, N.Y.-based wholesaler and distributor. The stations will remain Shell-branded.
Also as part of the deal, Chestnut Petroleum will acquire the supply contracts to an additional 35 sites, in the Hartford/New Haven markets.
The sites were offered for bid last year with a number of parties participating. A confidentiality agreement between the parties prohibits disclosure of the purchase price at this time. In Hartford, 32 stores were sold to individual dealer-operators in the fourth quarter of 2006, and those supply agreements will be assigned to Chestnut.
Chestnut Petroleum previously purchased assets from Motiva in the Danbury market in December 2004, and is an established Shell-branded wholesaler.
In late 2005, Motiva publicly stated their intent to transition retail assets to wholesale in a number of regions to better support their wholesale business and move toward their vision of becoming the best fuels retailers in the world.
“Motiva’s strategy of growth through the wholesale class of trade is exemplified through this sale,” said Jim Deakin, Shell’s Eastern region general manager. “We are very pleased to work with Chestnut Petroleum Distributors to grow and enhance the Shell brand in the Connecticut area.”
