The Haslam family will give up majority ownership in Pilot Flying J - eventually - as part of a deal with Berkshire Hathaway that keeps Jimmy Haslam as CEO and the company headquarters in place.

Under the sale, which takes effect Tuesday, the founding family's shares in the Knoxville-based truck stop chain will drop from 77 percent to 50.1 percent, with Berkshire Hathaway acquiring 38.6 percent. Minority stakeholder FJ Management Inc. will retain an 11.3 percent stake.

Berkshire Hathaway's shares come from 26.7 percent held by the Haslams, 6 percent held by the Maggellet family that once owned Flying J, 5 percent held by BDT Capital Partners and .96 percent held by four smaller stakeholders, company spokesman Tom Ingram said. By 2023, the Omaha-based holding company, headed by celebrity CEO Warren Buffett, will become Pilot's majority shareholder, with the Haslam family keeping 20 percent ownership.

Neither company would give the sale's price tag. No top jobs are changing, Buffett and Haslam said in an exclusive Monday night interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, and all plans call for the headquarters of the nation's largest truck-stop chain to stay in Knoxville.

"We've never made a move of the home office of any company we've bought," Buffett said Monday night. "We don't buy companies to change them."

A family legacy

Pilot, which operates 750 travel centers nationwide and reports $20 billion in annual revenue, has operated under the Haslam family's control since founder James A. Haslam II opened for business in October 1958 running a single gas station in Gate City, Va. Family shares dropped to as low as 44 percent when Pilot merged with Flying J in 2010, but even then the family retained the largest stake and controlling ownership.

"We've had partners off and on since 1965," said Jimmy Haslam, the founder's son and brother of Gov. Bill 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."

Berkshire Hathaway already has an established presence in East Tennessee. The company bought Maryville-based Clayton Homes, the country's biggest producer of manufactured housing, for $1.7 billion in 2003. Since then, CEO Kevin Clayton has continued to head the company, which has maintained its offices at its home base in Blount County.

"We've had good business in Tennessee," Buffett said. "They've had 60 years of building this company. It's always been their company. We jump at the chance to work alongside companies like that."

Sealing the deal

Buffett's reputation and Clayton's praise for working with Berkshire Hathaway helped prove deciding factors in the sale, Haslam said. Byron Trott, CEO of BDT Capital Partners and a mutual friend of Buffett and Haslam, also played a role.

"Kevin Clayton could not have been more complimentary," Jimmy Haslam said.

Talks began in early May, and negotiations picked up steam by July - lightning speed by most corporate standards.

"It came together pretty fast," Buffett said. "We like the business and we like the people, so it worked."

The sale's terms call for Haslam to stay on as CEO through 2023, and the family will continue to be involved in leading the company even after, Haslam said. Pilot President Ken Parent and the current management team will stay on as well.

Haslam said his ownership of the Cleveland Browns and his brother's consideration of a run for the U.S. Senate didn't influence the sale.

The company paid a $92 million settlement to trucking customers after a 2013 raid by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service uncovered a scheme within the company to shortchange some customers on diesel rebates. Fourteen former Pilot employees have pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in that scheme, with four more set for trial later this month, including former company president Mark Hazelwood. Jimmy Haslam has denied knowing about the scheme and hasn't been charged.

He and Buffett said that case cast no shadow on the deal.

"I knew about it, but it will not affect the future of the company," Buffett said.

And whatever that future brings, the company's fortunes will continue to call Knoxville home, he said.

"Call me back in 10 years, and I think you will still find the Jim Haslam family very prominent," Buffett said.

Archive Coverage: 2011 House of Haslam series:

Haslam patriarch started making mark on Knoxville as UT student

Work, loss and new joy: Death drew Haslams closer

Beyond Pilot and politics: Haslams' influence can be seen in sports, entertainment and philanthropy

Big deals, big wheels: Family, political fortunes reach new heights for Haslams

Building on experience as Knoxville's mayor, 'optimistic and enthusiastic' Haslam begins leading state