Petroleum Trends International, Inc. – Publishers of JobbersWorld
April 19, 2024
Moove
Moove is a subsidiary of Cosan S.A., one of Brazil’s largest business groups with investments in energy and logistics and revenue of approximately $23 billion. Cosan started business in 1936 with the Costa Pinto sugarcane mill in São Paulo and since that time has expanded and diversified by strategically investing in the agribusiness, fuel and natural gas distribution, and lubricants and logistics. Today, Cosan is a non-operational holding company, does not sell any type of commodities.
Cosan entered the fuel and lubricants business in 2008 when it acquired Exxon’s fuel distribution assets in Brazil. In 2013, Moove further expanded its lubricants business when it acquired Comma Oil & Chemicals Limited (based in Kent, England) for approximately $100 million from ExxonMobil (Comma was established in 1965 and later became part of ExxonMobil). In addition to manufacturing and marketing the Comma brand, the company developed and distributed Esso and Mobil branded lubricants and chemicals.
In 2016, Moove acquired the British company Stanbridge Group Limited. With this acquisition, Moove became the exclusive distributor of Mobil lubricants in the UK. In addition, during the same year, Cosan became the exclusive distributor of Mobil products in Spain. In 2017, Moove also acquired WP Group, including Airport Energy. WP Group distributes Mobil lubricants and fuels and is the Authorized Distributor for Mobil lubricants across England & Scotland.
With these acquisitions, Moove grew to become one of the largest producers and distributors of lubricants and base oils in the world and one of ExxonMobil’s biggest sales and marketing distribution partners worldwide. Moove has a presence in 11 countries, including Brazil, United Kingdom, France, Scotland, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, and the United States.
Moove has five manufacturing plants (Brazil, England and USA) with a Combined, production capacity of 3.5 million barrels of oil a year. The company focuses on Mobil-brand lubricant distribution in Brazil, Europe and United States and also on its proprietary brands in Europe and USA.
Moove is the sole manufacturer of Mobil-branded specialty lubricants in Brazil and has the exclusive rights to commercialize Mobil products in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. Within Latin America, Moove sells via a network of exclusive distributors and directly to large industrial groups and OEMs. Since 2012, Moove initiated an expansion plan into Europe and now distributes mainly Mobil-branded specialty lubricants focused on industrial clients in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.
Moove Moves into the US Market
Moove entered the US market by acquiring MetroLube, one of the leading ExxonMobil distributors in the NY, NJ metro area. Moove’s most notable advance into the US market, however, came with its acquisition of PetroChoice in May 2022. Prior to this acquisition, PetroChoice had also been working hard to build its lubricant distribution through acquisitions.
- MetroLube
Moove’s presence in the USA was established in December 2018 when Cosan Lubes Investments Limited (CLI) acquired Commercial Lubricants, LLC (d/b/a Metrolube). MetroLube is a leading ExxonMobil distributor in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area.
- PetroChoice
PetroChoice has its roots in Tri-County Petroleum (TCP). Founded in 1969, TCP was initially a heating oil distributor. In 1976, however, TCP made the decision to focus on the commercial and industrial lubricants business and a year later built a lubricant distribution facility in Riddlesburg, PA.
TCP formed a strategic alliance with ExxonMobil in 1993 and received the ExxonMobil Area of Best Efforts designation in the Mid-Atlantic region. And between 1995 and 2004, TCP made seven acquisitions in the Mid-Atlantic Region, including six ExxonMobil distributors and one ConocoPhillips distributor.
TCP’s success, position in the market, and growth strategy got the attention of KRG Capital Partners, a Denver-based private equity investment firm, who at that time was looking for a platform company to build on with further acquisitions in the fragmented lubricants space. With that, KRG Capital Partners acquired Tri-County Petroleum in January 2008. Shortly after, Golub Capital announced that it provided $23.8 million of senior debt, subordinated debt and co-investment equity in support of KRG Capital Partners’ acquisition of Tri-County Petroleum. In the year following the acquisition, TCP’s name was changed to PetroChoice.
On January 17, 2012, in a secondary buyout, Greenbriar Equity Group acquired PetroChoice from KRG Capital Partners. Greenbriar is private equity firm with a focus on the global transportation industry and transportation related manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing. In another change of ownership, on December 1, 2015, private equity firm Golden Gate Capital acquired PetroChoice from Greenbriar. Golden Gate Capital then sold PetroChoice to Moove for $479 million in May 2022.
Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, PetroChoice has grown to become one of the largest distributors and manufacturer of value-added lubricant solutions in the United States, delivering approximately 65 million gallons annually to the industrial, commercial, and passenger vehicle customer segments. PetroChoice has an extensive and high-quality product offering including Mobil lubricants, as well a proprietary line of premium products under the brands Medallion Plus, Dyna-Plex 21C and Eco Ultra. Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, PetroChoice operates more than 50 strategically located distribution centers across 25 states.
While PetroChoice has grown organically, a large part of the growth has come through the acquisition of 19 lubricant distributors during the time the company was owned by private equity. In addition, Tri-County Petroleum acquired seven lubricant distributors before the sale to provide equity and the name change to PetroChoice.
Moove’s acquisition of PetroChoice quickly catapulted Moove into becoming a true Titan in the US lubricant distribution business.
As a lubricant focused company, equipped with robust assets, unique culture, and high-performance teams, Moove significantly strengthens its global presence as one of the largest lubricants companies and a leading ExxonMobil lubricants distributor.