Cool Petroleum turns Blue in Jamaica

Kentucky-headquartered Blue Equity has acquired a controlling interest in Cool Petroleum from Neal and Massy Holdings for an undisclosed sum. Having “swooped in and purchased all of its stations in Jamaica” when Shell divested its Caribbean interests in 2005, Cool is not only the country’s largest fuel retailer by volume, but also one of the largest suppliers of chemical raw materials to the local paints, coatings, packagings, adhesives and automotive sectors. The exclusive distributor of Shell bulk fuels, Shell chemicals and Shell lubricants on the island, Cool expects to post 2011 revenues of around $370m, up from $330m the previous year.

“Blue Equity is very pleased to announce this transaction and would like to congratulate and welcome all of our partners, customers and employees into the Blue Equity family with the purchase of Cool Petroleum,” says Blue chairman and managing director Jonathan S Blue, who will now also become Cool’s chairman and CEO. “We look forward to continuing to build on the momentum of now owning the largest set of private petroleum storage and distribution assets in Jamaica. In particular, we are looking forward to owning an island-wide retail network of service stations operating under the Shell brand, one of the greatest brands in the world. Most importantly, we are very excited to be a part of one of the leading companies in the country of Jamaica.”

“The Cool Group of Companies is pleased to welcome our new partners to Jamaica,” says Cool Corporation chairman Joe Issa. “We are grateful for the five-year partnership we enjoyed with Neal and Massy. I am proud of what we have accomplished and we now look forward to working with Blue Equity to take Cool Petroleum to the next level.”

www.coolcorp.com
www.blueequity.com