Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Pilot Corporation under which Marathon will sell its 50 percent ownership interest in Pilot Travel Centers LLC (PTC) to Pilot Corporation in a cash transaction valued at $700 million, excluding any purchase price adjustments due at closing. The companies expect to close the transaction in October 2008.
PTC, formed in 2001, operates the largest travel center network in the United States with more than 275 locations in 40 states and one in Ontario, Canada. The company also licenses its trademark to 18 locations in four states. PTC plays an important role in U.S. transportation fuels infrastructure supplying approximately 10 percent of the on-road diesel fuel consumed in the U.S. Marathon currently supplies significant volumes of motor fuels to PTC, and following the sale, the Company expects to remain one of PTC's key suppliers.
"When Marathon and Pilot Corporation joined together to form PTC in 2001, we had a shared vision of creating the leading travel center network in the U.S. Through the outstanding relationship we have enjoyed with Pilot Corporation and its owners, the Haslam family, we have realized that vision and in the process, created substantial value for both of our companies," said Gary R. Heminger, Marathon executive vice president and president of the Company's refining, marketing and transportation operations. "Marathon's decision to sell its interest in PTC is part of our ongoing review of Marathon's global asset portfolio, and is an appropriate time to capture the value created by this partnership. The sale brings our announced pretax sales values, including our previously announced sale of non-core Norwegian assets, to $1.1 billion, which is well on track to achieve our goal of $2 - $4 billion in gross proceeds by mid-year 2009."
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. served as Marathon's financial advisor for this transaction.