Berkshire Hathaway disclosed this week that it had reached a settlement in a lawsuit with Pilot Corporation, thereby cancelling the trial that was scheduled to commence on Monday in Delaware.
The lawsuit, dating back to October 2023, pertained to the remaining 20% of Pilot Travel Centers (PTC) still owned by the Haslam family, as reported by Freight Waves. Berkshire Hathaway stood accused of employing accounting practices that could potentially diminish the value of the final fifth ownership of PTC. The dispute revolved around the "put right," which would permit Berkshire Hathway to apply a formula also used in its initial purchases of PTC equity. This provision would enable the Haslam family to force Berkshire Hathaway to acquire their remaining stake in the company within a 60-day window each year after 2023.
In a countersuit, Berkshire Hathaway claimed that Jimmy Haslam had covertly promised under-the-table payments to high-ranking Pilot employees, an action that would artificially boost profits. Reuters reported in late November that Berkshire paid $11 billion for an 80 percent stake in Pilot and had valued the remaining 20% at $3.2 billion. The countersuit aimed to prevent the Haslam family from exercising an option to sell their stake in the company this year or making those unauthorized payments.
According to CNBC, the trial of Pilot Corp. v. Greg Abel et al., initially scheduled for January 8 and 9, has now been cancelled following a conference with lawyers representing both parties held on January 6th. The two sides disagreed over the use of PTC; while the Haslam family argued it was not authorized, Berkshire Hathaway contended it was an accounting change not permitted under the purchase agreement. CNBC further reported that between 2017 and January 2023, Berkshire acquired an 80% stake in PTC. Had it proceeded, this trial could have resulted in Berkshire paying $1.2 billion more than it would have otherwise.