SHELL ACQUIRES ALLIED RELIABILITY, FURTHER EXPANDING ITS NORTH AMERICAN LUBRICANTS BUSINESS

HOUSTON, Dec. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennzoil-Quaker State Company d/b/a SOPUS Products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell USA, Inc. ("Shell") that comprises Shell's US lubricants business, has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of TFH Reliability Group, LLC, the parent company of Allied Reliability Inc. ("Allied Reliability").

Allied Reliability is a provider of industrial products and services, asset performance management and reliability consultancy services to business-to-business customers in North America. The company works across a wide range of industries and delivers enhancements in the efficiency and reliability of assets.

"In addition to expanding the suite of lubricants products we can offer customers, acquiring a proven, credible player in the industrial services space allows us to offer a 'products-plus-services' model that can help customers drive improvements in performance and safety for their equipment," said Executive Vice President of Global Lubricants, Machteld de Haan. "This fits in perfectly with our global lubricants strategy to grow our premium product offering and presence in the industrial sector, as well as offering complementary services to deliver a strong value proposition for our customers."

This deal was structured to simultaneously sign and close.

Notes to editors

• Allied Reliability was a portfolio company of Capstreet, a Houston-based private equity firm.
• Allied Reliability will be an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Shell and fully consolidated within our Lubricants marketing business from today.
• The term "Shell Lubricants" collectively refers to Shell Group companies engaged in the lubricants business. Shell sells a wide variety of lubricants to meet customer needs across a range of applications in over 100 countries. Shell was named the leading global supplier of finished lubricants for a 16th consecutive year, according to the 20th edition of Kline & Company's report Global Lubricants: Market Analysis and Assessment 2021. Please visit www.shell.com/lubricants for more information.
• The companies manufacture and blend products for use in consumer, heavy industrial and commercial transport applications. The Shell Lubricants portfolio of top-quality brands includes Shell Rotella®, Pennzoil®, Quaker State®, FormulaShell®, Shell TELLUS®, Shell RIMULA®, Shell SPIRAX® and Jiffy Lube®. Shell is the leading supplier of Passenger Car Motor Oils in the United States, with 24% of the total volume. (Kline: Opportunities in Lubricants: North America – June 2022).
• Global lubricants market is expected to grow well into 2030s and beyond. The gross margin pool of industrial lubricants is expected to grow up to 50% by 2035. ¹

Cautionary note
The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell Group" and "Group" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. "Joint ventures" and "joint operations" are collectively referred to as "joint arrangements".  Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition", ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', "milestones", ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule", ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, [December 22, 2022]. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.       

¹ McKinsey Global Lubricants Demand Model 2022.

SOURCE Shell