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Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought a major stake in the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain and plans to become the company's biggest shareholder in six years. Berkshire Hathaway will acquire 38.6 percent of Pilot Flying J, a closely held company based in Knoxville, Tenn., according to a release Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
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The Haslam family will continue to hold the majority of Pilot Flying J. Also, Jimmy Haslam, who owns the Cleveland Browns and is son of the founder, will remain as chief executive officer.
Jimmy Haslam's brother is Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
Buffett, who is chairman of Berthshire Hathaway, based in Omaha, Neb., doesn't plan to move the headquarters.
"We've never made a move of the home office of any company we've bought," Buffett said Monday night to the Knoxville News Sentinel. "We don't buy companies to change them."
The Maggelet family, which formerly owned Flying J, will keep its 11.3 percent stake in Pilot Flying J as part of FJ Management Inc. until 2023 when Buffett plans to become the company's biggest shareholder.
Buffett will boost his stake to 80 percent then, leaving the Haslams with one-fifth of the business.
"Trucks are going to be around for a very long time. Who knows when driverless trucks are going to come along and what level of penetration they have," Buffett said in a Bloomberg interview. "There is nothing that we own that doesn't have something in the future that might affect it."
Pilot J, which operates 750 travel centers nationwide with revenue of $20 billion, was founded by James A. Haslam II in October 1958 as single gas station in Gate City, Va.
Pilot merged with Flying J in 2010.
"We've had partners off and on since 1965," said Jimmy Haslam. "So it's not unusual for us to take a partner on. Obviously to have a partner like Warren and Berkshire Hathaway, I think, is a tremendous honor for our team members. Pilot Flying J has always been a growth company, and obviously partnering with Warren is an opportunity to grow even more."
Buffett's company bought Tennessee-based Clayton Homes, the country's biggest producer of manufactured housing, for $1.7 billion in 2003.
Buffett, 87, is worth $79.8 billion, according to Forbes. His Berthshire Hathaway owns more than 60 companies, including Geico, Duracell, Dairy Queen and daily newspapers that include the Buffalo News and Omaha World-Herald.
The trucking company paid $92 million in a settlement to trucking customers after the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service uncovered a scheme in 2013 to shortchange some customers on diesel rebates. Fourteen former Pilot employees have pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges with four more set for trial later this month, including former company president Mark Hazelwood.
