McDougall, Dowler-Karn acquisition closes

A deal between two of Ontario’s biggest fuel and lubricant distributors has closed.

McDougall Energy acquired Dowler-Karn in a deal announced just before Halloween 2021 and closed Feb. 28.

Both are family-owned companies. Dowler-Karn was a third-generation business that manages the petroleum business in Canada. It is a distributor of fuel, propane and lubricants. It services more than 18,000 residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial customers from eight fuel, propane, and lubricant plants and nine 24-hour fuel access centres across Southwestern Ontario.

The company will operate under its family name and management as a division of McDougall.

“The acquisition of Dowler-Karn brings two 70-plus-year-old family businesses together,” said Darren McDougall, President of McDougall Energy Inc. “This unique opportunity allows us to acquire one of the best family-owned and managed petroleum businesses in Canada and will add significant scale to our business in Southwestern Ontario.”

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based McDougall Energy, meanwhile, is also a third-generation family-owned business, operating since 1949. It, too, is a fuel and lubricant marketer and distributor in Canada. It has offices across Ontario and team members in Western Canada.

“Deciding to sell Dowler-Karn was a very difficult decision, but choosing to sell it to McDougall Energy was not,” says David Karn, President of Dowler-Karn Limited. “After all, they are a third-generation family-owned and operated business, built on similar values as Dowler-Karn, which makes this a perfect fit. The talents and strengths of our teams will position our combined organization in a trajectory of continued success for years to come.”