LEXINGTON, Ky. — Valvoline Inc. is buying a quick-lube business in the Midland/Odessa, Texas, area that will add 14 locations its company-owned Valvoline Instant Oil Change service center network in Texas .
The company has struck a deal with Kent Lubrication Centers Ltd. (doing business as Avis Lube) to buy its 14 quick-lube centers in the Midland/Odessa area and plans to rebrand them as VIOC service centers.
The deal — which will expand VIOC's presence in Texas to 74 corporate and franchised centers — is expected to close in the first quarter of Valvoline's fiscal 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As an owner, it was a bittersweet decision to sell," Bill Kent, owner of Kent Lubrication Centers, said. "After getting to know the excellent management team at Valvoline, I realized I could not have found a better company to provide my loyal Avis Lube team members with the continued career and growth opportunities they deserve."
Besides Kent Lubrication Centers, the Kent family of companies includes Arizona Kent Lubrication Centers Inc., Professional Lube Management Inc., Wescon Management Group Inc., K F Financial L.L.C., Kent Tire Co. and Team Kent Motorsports.
VIOC's other stores in Texas are concentrated in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin markets.
With 1,400-plus locations, the VIOC network is considered the second largest quick-lube chain in North America, behind Jiffy Lube. Roughly two-thirds of the VIOCs in the U.S. and Canada are operated by franchisees, according to Valvoline data.
There also are over 300 Valvoline Express Care locations — which offer a range of automotive maintenance and repair services beyond oil and fluid exchange — in North America.
