Announces formation of a strategic growth partnership.
Empire Petroleum Partners LLC has acquired the retail dealer business of Mansfield Oil Co. of Gainesville Inc. and has merged its retail dealer operations into Empire effective Sept. 25, 2014.
Additionally, Mansfield will become a partner and will retain an ownership stake in Empire. The combination of Empire and Mansfield will create a powerful, national dealer‐focused fuel distributor, which services over 1,100 accounts in 26 states in the continental U.S. The addition of Mansfield’s retail dealer business significantly enhances Empire’s unbranded platform and further solidifies its relationship with its branded partners—including Citgo, Valero, BP, Mobil and ChevronTexaco.
“With changes in the retail gasoline industry just getting started, the best chance for large scale success lies with efforts such as Empire’s vision to establish a large volume business that is well capitalized and poised for growth” said Douglas Haugh, president of Mansfield. “We believe that Empire has assembled a great team and a strong platform that is required for long‐term success.”
Empire and Mansfield expect to work together on future acquisitions which will both assist Empire in the growth of its retail dealer platform while also supporting Mansfield’s expansion of its retained commercial fuels business.
“The combination of the Empire and Mansfield teams on an ongoing basis will be a formidable partnership; one which will allow Empire to continue to execute on its growth plans well into the future” added Hank Heithaus, CEO of Empire. In an attempt to make the transition as seamless and as smooth as possible for customers, Empire will hire Mansfield’s existing operations personnel to continue to manage the accounts for Empire post‐closing.