USA: BP to acquire TravelCenters of America
British Petrol has announced that it will buy TravelCenters of America for around 1.3 billion dollars. The takeover of the company, which operates rest stops, restaurants and shops under various brand names in 44 US states, is definite news for electromobility.
TravelCenters of America recently entered into a cooperation agreement with the Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America to install about 1,000 fast-charging stations at 200 locations along main US highways within five years.
As reported, BP reportedly wants to pump one billion US dollars into the development of charging infrastructure in the USA by 2030. Concrete synergies have not been mentioned in today’s takeover announcement, but they seem obvious, not the least, thanks to the upcoming billion-dollar funding from the US government for EV charging infrastructure.
The petroleum company wants to strategically expand its US network with the takeover, which is still subject to the approval of both shareholders and regulatory authorities. Up to now, the US subsidiary BP Products North America has concentrated mainly on off-highway locations. The truck stops on the highways are thus intended to be a fitting addition and not competition to the company’s own sites.
BP’s global scale shall “over time, bring advantages in fuel and biofuel supply as well as convenience offers”, writes the oil and gas corporation. The statement already lists not only EV charging but also biofuels and hydrogen for passenger vehicles and fleets.
Bernard Looney, CEO of bp, called the fuls the company’s “five strategic transition growth engines”.
BP expects the acquisition to bring around 280 TravelCenters of America sites into the bp portfolio. These travel centres, which average around 25 acres, offer a full range of facilities for vehicles and fleet trucks, including more than 600 full-service and quick-service restaurants and truck maintenance and repair services. Around 70% of TA’s total gross margin is generated by its convenience services business, almost double bp’s global convenience gross margin.
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