Calgary-based Parkland Fuel Corp. has entered into an agreement through its U.S. based subsidiaries to acquire Ken Bettridge Distributing Inc., or KB Oil, Parkland announced today.
Founded in 1976 by Ken Bettridge, KB Oil is a bulk fuel and lubricants distributor and operator of fleet fueling, convenience stores and cardlock services in Southwest Utah and Southeast Nevada.
With nine convenience stores and a modern fleet of trucks, KB Oil has approximately 160 employees and will incorporate into Parkland’s Rockies Regional Operating Center headquartered in American Fork, Utah, with Rhinehart Oil serving as the operating entity. KB Oil’s c-stores operate under the name KB Express.
“KB Oil has long been a respected and admired provider of bulk fuels and lubricants in the region and is an expert in the trucking industry,” said John Jardine, vice president of Parkland USA and general manager of the Rockies ROC.
Parkland, he said, will be able to leverage its resources to better serve customers throughout Utah and Nevada. “The acquisition of KB Oil follows on our U.S. growth strategy by establishing scale through the addition of strong local operators,” said Jardine.
KB Oil liked what it saw in the way Parkland operates and felt it was the right company to continue serving the customer base it had built across all of its service lines over several decades.
“We’ve been a family-owned business for more than 40 years, and the professional business model and culture of Parkland appealed to us as we looked to sell,” said Stacey Bettridge, KB Oil co-president along with Rand Bettridge.
Rand Bettridge added, “Our customers will benefit from the increased resources Parkland can provide, and this in turn will contribute to Parkland’s continued organic growth efforts.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Parkland has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets, including real estate, used in the operation of KB Oil’s business. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. KB Oil will operate under Parkland USA, a division of Parkland comprising several of Parkland’s wholly owned subsidiaries in the retail, commercial and supply fuel operations.
Parkland USA operates 45 convenience stores, 220 dealers and 300 trucks, with 1,000 employees in 11 states.
Parkland is a leading convenience store operator as well as an independent supplier and marketer of fuel and petroleum products. Parkland services customers across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean region and the Americas through retail, commercial and wholesale.
For more information visit www.parkland.ca.