Case Study: Matrix Advises on the Sale of Schmitt Sales, Inc.’s Convenience Retailing and Wholesale Fuel Assets

Situation:

Schmitt Sales, Inc. (“Schmitt” or the “Company”), headquartered in Buffalo, New York, was a leading petroleum distributor and convenience retailer located throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. The Company distributed Sunoco, ExxonMobil, Valero, Marathon, Keystone, and Shell branded fuel.

Schmitt was founded in 1964 and shortly thereafter began partnering with independent grocery stores and convenience retailers to provide fuel offerings as a complement to traditional grocery and convenience items. Using this strategy, the Company was able to grow rapidly through the development of new partnerships with single-site retailers and the expansion of existing operations with multi-site operators. At the time of the transaction, the Company consisted of three operated convenience stores, 109 commission marketer sites, 91 supply contracts, and approximately 65 non-contract dealers.

The Company’s CEO, Maureen Schmitt, and her family sought to exit the petroleum marketing and fuel distribution business to diversify their wealth and focus on other business ventures.

Objective:

To customize, execute, and complete a confidential sale process that would allow the Company’s shareholders to realize maximum after-tax value upon the sale of the Company’s retail and wholesale assets.

Solution:

Matrix provided Schmitt with merger and acquisition advisory services, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. Multiple competitive offers were received, and Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) was ultimately selected as the acquirer of the Company’s retail and wholesale assets. Matrix assisted in the negotiation of the asset purchase agreement and coordinated the due diligence process and transaction closing. The transaction with Sunoco closed in December of 2018.

About Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Group:

Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Group is recognized as the national leader in providing transactional advisory services to companies in the downstream energy and multi-site retail sectors including convenience retailing, petroleum marketing & distribution, propane distribution, heating oil distribution, lubricants distribution, petroleum transportation & logistics, terminals and bulk plants, food service and specialty retail. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, debt and equity capital raises, corporate restructurings, corporate valuations, and strategic planning engagements. Since its inception in 1997, this dedicated group has successfully completed over 225 engagements in these sectors with a total transaction value of more than $10 billion.