In what may have been one of the hottest running rumor mills in recent times, it seemed everybody in our industry has been talking about “something big” happening out West. Well after many weeks of speculation, something big did happen today. But in spite of the rumors that the something big would be Simons Petroleum acquiring General Petroleum, that didn’t happen. What really happened is even bigger.

Jobbers World learned today that the Private Equity Firms of Waud Capital Partners, LLC, Northwest Capital Appreciation, Inc., RBC Capital Partners and Cadent Energy Partners, LLC formed a new holding company operating under the name of “Global Petroleum.”

Now for the “something big.”

Global Petroleum announced the acquisition of Pecos, Inc., one of the nation’s largest marketers of fuels and lubricants. Headquartered in Rancho Dominguez, California, Pecos Inc., through its original subsidiary General Petroleum. was founded in 1946 to service the fishing fleets and work boats of Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors, The compoany has since evolved into one of the largest suppliers of fuels, lubricants and petroleum related value-added services to the marine, commercial, automotive, and industrial sectors on the West Coast. Theyhave annual sales of over $800 million. The company is also the leading marketer of Chevron lubricants in the country.

And if that’s not big enough news for you - read on.

Global Petroleum, based in Stamford Connecticut, is a holding company with a diverse portfolio of leading petroleum marketing companies. These companies now include General Petroleum, Canyon State Oil, and Simons Petroleum. Think about it, Global Petroleum now comprises the largest Chevron lubricants marketer in the country (General Petroleum), the largest Shell lubricant marketer in the country (Canyon State Oil), and one of the leading multibranded lubricant marketers in the country (Simons Petroleum). When you add it all up, you get a marketer with sales close to $3 billion! This includes an estimated 35 million gallons in lubricant sales. With the addition of Pecos, Global Petroleum is now the largest independent marketers of petroleum products and value added services to commercial customers in the United States.

It is important to note that the senior management team from Pecos will continue in its present role and report to Perot Bissell, CEO of Global Petroleum. Bissell told Jobbers World, “We are thrilled to welcome Pecos to our family of companies as they have a long proven track record for quality and customer service that is second to none. Pecos has been recognized as the premier provider of customer satisfaction and quality assurance by its supply partners. This acquisition compliments the operations of our portfolio of companies.”

John Zar, the President of Pecos added that “We are excited about the possibilities for our customers and employees, that of being part of a larger enterprise that shares our goals and values.”,. “The scale of the combined operations and financial backing of three private equity groups will allow us to better serve both our supply partners and our customers, and allow Pecos to share best practices and cross marketing opportunities with our new sister companies.” Zar also noted that that, Pecos will continue to market under its existing General Petroleum name in California, Rainier Petroleum in Washington state, GP Atlantic in the Carolinas, and Marine Oil Service in Panama.

So there you have it... No more rumors, only the facts. The big just got even bigger! Learn more about just how big they are and what it might mean for other marketers in next month print issue of Jobbers World.