Private Equity News & Analysis

CVC buys stake in US travel center company

The deal for Pilot Travel Centers was sourced by the private equity firm’s recently established US advisory board.

-

CVC Capital Partners has acquired a 47.5 percent stake in Pilot Travel Centers, a US-based company that runs gasoline and convenience stores.

Financial details about the deal were not disclosed. CVC will become a partner with Pilot Corporation, the parent of Pilot Travel Centers, which is owned by the Haslam Family. As part of the transaction, Marathon Oil is selling its interest in Pilot Travel Centers.

The transaction is expected to close this month.

Pilot Travel Centers operates the largest travel center network in the US with 305 locations in 40 states and one in Ontario, Canada. Pilot Travel Centers supplies about 10 percent of the on-road truck diesel fuel consumed in the US.

Brad Martin, a member of CVC’s newly formed US advisory board, introduced CVC to Pilot Travel Centers, according to Christina Stenson, a spokeswoman for CVC. Stenson said Martin has known Pilot Travel Centers for 30 years.

CVC, founded in 1981, manages about $46 billion (€32 billion) in private equity funds globally. The firm closed its fifth buyout fund on €12.1 billion in March 2008. Â