Dive Brief:

• Fuel giant BP is looking to create a “mobility site of the future” that supports growing demand for lower-carbon mobility solutions through its recent $1.3 billion acquisition of TravelCenters of America, said CEO Bernard Looney during a recent webcast detailing the purchase.
• BP will not rebrand any of the 280 TA sites joining its network, as the company believes in “responding to our customers in the national and in the local markets where they are,” Emma Delaney, executive vice president of customers and products for BP, said during the webcast.
• The acquisition will allow the retailer to advance its convenience, bioenergy, EV charging and hydrogen “growth engines” as it aims to become an integrated energy company, Looney said.

Dive Insight:

The TA acquisition came just a day after BP detailed plans to invest $1 billion in its U.S. EV charging network by 2030. BP first revealed the network alongside car rental company Hertz last September. 

When combining BP’s electrification initiative with TA’s recent plans to open 1,000 charging stations over the next five years, the acquisition promises to make BP’s EV charging network a leading program within the c-store space.

Looney said in a press release that BP plans to invest half of its cumulative $55 billion to $65 billion transition growth engine funding into convenience, bioenergy and EV charging.

“This deal will grow our convenience and mobility footprint across the U.S. and grow earnings with attractive returns,” he said.

TA’s network of highway sites complements BP’s existing off-highway convenience and mobility business, according to the release.

“TA's amazing nationwide network of on-highway locations combined with BP’s more than 8,000 off-highway locations have the potential to offer travelers and professional drivers a seamless experience for decades to come,” Dave Lawler, chairman and president of BP America, said in the announcement.

BP’s acquisition of TA is expected to close by mid-2023, subject to regulatory and TA shareholder approvals, according to the announcement.