Motiva Enterprises LLC (Motiva), the company that markets Shell-branded gasoline in the eastern United States, has accepted an offer from Colbea Enterprises LLC (Colbea) to acquire Motiva’s interest in 34 Shell-branded retail sites in the state of Rhode Island. Motiva holds a partial ownership position in Colbea, which currently operates 21 Shell-branded sites.
As a result of this transaction, Colbea will become one of the largest Shell-branded wholesalers in the Northeast. The company will supply over 85 million gallons annually to 55 Shell-branded locations in Rhode Island and act as a wholesaler for Shell-branded motor fuels.
The stations will remain Shell-branded at all 55 of the sites, thereby better serving customers and maintaining the awareness of the Shell brand in the region.
“The purchase of the Rhode Island assets complements Colbea’s existing network and affords us a great opportunity to successfully market Shell-branded products across the entire state of Rhode Island,” said Andrew Delli Carpini, CEO of East Side Enterprises LLC, the other owner of Colbea.
This divestment is in line with Motiva’s publicly stated intent to transition retail assets to wholesale in a number of regions to better support the wholesale business and move toward a vision of becoming the best fuels retailer.
“Motiva continuously evaluates its options with regards to strengthening network growth through the wholesale class of trade, and this offer presented just that opportunity. Colbea is a proven company and has demonstrated its experience in managing and growing the Shell brand in Rhode Island,” said Jim Deakin, Motiva’s general manager of retail for the East Region.
According to a confidentiality agreement between the parties, the purchase prices cannot be disclosed.