OMAHA (dpa-AFX) - Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A), has acquired the remaining 20% ownership of Pilot Travel Centers from the family of Jimmy Haslam, co-owner of the Cleveland Browns.
The transaction, which was announced on January 16, was finalized after resolving a legal disagreement over the stake's valuation. The specific financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
The Haslam family successfully expanded Pilot, starting with a lone gas station in 1958, and transformed it into the fifth-largest privately-owned company in the United States and Canada, boasting over 750 establishments throughout both countries.
In 2017, Berkshire acquired an initial stake of 38.6% in PTC for $2.76 billion within the domain of business. There was an agreement between both parties that Berkshire would gain control of PTC by obtaining an additional 41.4% interest in January 2023, paying approximately $8.2 billion for this acquisition.
According to the agreement made in 2017, the price for selling the remaining 20% owned by Pilot would depend on the earnings of the prior year.
As the initial sale deadline drew near, both parties involved in the transaction leveled accusations against each other regarding potential manipulation of the company's financial records.
The Haslams claimed that Berkshire violated the agreed-upon terms by implementing changes in accounting practices to deflate the sale price. In response, Berkshire countered by alleging that Jimmy Haslam, a member of the Haslam family, attempted to bribe Pilot employees to artificially increase the sale price. The Haslam family, however, refuted the bribery allegations.
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