Those Pilot Travel Centers around Oklahoma are now totally owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
Billionaire Warren Buffet’s company announced this week it acquired the remaining 20% in Pilot Travel Centers LLC across the nation. It means the 750 travel centers around the U.S. are 100% owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
Eleven Pilot Travel centers are located in Oklahoma, two in Oklahoma City and one each in Ardmore, Atoka, Checotah, Edmond, Muskogee, Roland, Sayre, Tonkawa and Tulsa.
The final sale was made by the Haslam family and announced this week. But terms of the sale were not disclosed. The Haslams, one of the most powerful families in Tennessee had owned 67% of the Knoxville-based $31 billion (sales) Pilot Flying J.
The Pilot Travel Centers company was founded in 1958 and merged with Flying J in 2001.
“Berkshire Hathaway now owns 100% of Pilot Travel Centers,” Berkshire said in a statement, which also said the sale by the Haslams’ Pilot Corp. was “effective today.”
Pilot is the largest operator of travel centers in North America. Berkshire Hathaway launched its initial acquisition efforts in 2017 and January 2023 by spending $11 billion to buy out the majority stake in Pilot Travel Centers owned by the Haslams.
The purchase extends Berkshire Hathaway holdings across the nation. Its business activities already include freight rail transportation (BNSF), manufacturing, utilities and energy and insurance and reinsurance.