[June 03, 2011] British firm purchases Tulsa's Market Planning Solutions [Tulsa World, Okla.] Tweet (Tulsa World (OK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) June 03--A British firm purchased Tulsa's Market Planning Solutions Inc. but plans to keep the mapping company's local office. The 40-year-old MPSI conducted mapping studies for retailers, particularly convenience stores, to identify high-traffic and high-visibility real estate sites. KSS Fuels, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, is an analytics, consulting and software firm for fuel retailers and wholesalers, as well as other retailers, according to a release from the company. The sale was announced this week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "MPSI will continue to be a major hub of the combined operation," said Market Planning Solutions Inc. president James Auten. MPSI was founded in 1970 in the Tulsa garage of Ronald Harper using a computer to figure out the best place to locate gas stations. His early $500 investment blossomed into a company traded publicly on the Nasdaq exchange in 1983 before the company went private again in 2003. Harper has slowly withdrawn himself from the company since he stepped down as chief executive officer in 2003. He officially retired from the company in 2007, but remained on MPSI's board of directors. Harper was still MPSI's board chairman until the merger was completed, but he will no longer be officially involved with the company, Auten said. As of 2007, MPSI had about 85 employees worldwide, including 65 in Tulsa. According to a statement, KSS Fuels plans to keep the Tulsa office to add to offices in New Jersey and other locations nationwide. "The bulk of the personnel will stay in place," Auten said. "There will be changes in staffing levels because there will be a few redundant positions, but the reason for the merger was to allow us to grow our global scope." ___ To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Tulsa World, Okla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]