Haslam family sells Berkshire Hathaway Pilot Travel Centers share

The Haslam family on Tuesday said its Pilot Corporation had closed the sale of its remaining 20% ownership interest in truck-stop giant Pilot Travel Centers to Berkshire Hathaway.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed. CNBC has requested comment from Berkshire Hathaway.

The sale was announced more than a week after the Haslam family and Berkshire Hathaway announced they had settled a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court related to the dispute over the use of an accounting method that would affect the value of the family’s stake in Pilot Travel Centers.

Terms of that out-of-court settlement were not made public at the time.

The settlement had avoided what was scheduled to be a two-day trial beginning Jan. 8.

Berkshire in separate transactions in 2017 and January 2023 had spent $11 billion to buy out the majority stake in PTC owned by the Haslams. PTC is the largest operator of travel centers in North America, with more than 750 locations.

Under the terms of the 2023 transaction, the family had the option to compel Berkshire to buy their remaining 20% stake in PTC within a 60-day window every year.

The Haslams last year sued Berkshire in a complaint that accused the conglomerate of using so-called pushdown accounting at PTC without authorization from the family.

That form of accounting would lower the PTC’s stated value, reducing how much Berkshire could be forced to pay for the family’s remaining stake.

“Pilot started with one gas station 65 years ago, and because of the dedicated and exceptional team members we have had throughout our history, it is now an industry leader,” said Jim Haslam II, founder of PTC in a statement.

“While this has certainly been an emotional decision for us, it is one we felt was right for our family at this time. We look forward to continuing to support our life-long home of Knoxville, Tennessee, and to furthering our deep commitment and philanthropy throughout the region that we all love,” he said.

In December, it was reported that federal prosecutors in New York were investigating allegations made by Berkshire that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III had offered payments to PTC executives in exchange for help boosting the value of the company to benefit the family in any compelled sale.

The Haslams denied Berkshire’s claims.

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