Case Study:
Matrix Announces the Successful Sale of Haywood Oil Company, Inc. (d/b/a Peak Energy)
Headquartered in Waynesville, NC, Haywood Oil Company, Inc. d/b/a Peak Energy (“Peak” or the “Company”) was incorporated in 1952 as a local home heating oil delivery company. In 1973, David Blevins left Exxon to become President of Haywood Oil Company. Years later, his son Todd became President of Peak in 1999 and continued the legacy of growth by making seven acquisitions over the next ten years, transforming the Company into a leading petroleum marketer and fuels distributor.
By 2021, the Company operated two primary business segments that served customers throughout western North Carolina, as well as parts of South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. The convenience retail, petroleum marketing and wholesale fuels business consisted of 11 company-owned locations and served over 100 wholesale customers and the commercial fuels and heating oil business sold refined fuel products through two bulk plant locations.
Matrix was initially retained to perform a valuation of the Company with the goal being to determine the then current value if sold. Matrix approached the valuation from two perspectives; selling it all to one buyer or marketing Peak’s convenience retail and wholesale fuels business separately from the commercial fuels and heating oil business.
After considering the likely valuation range that could be achieved through competitive sale processes for each business, Todd engaged Matrix in July 2021 to customize, execute, and complete two confidential sale transactions with the goal to close at least the larger of the two in just over five months in order to maximize after-tax net proceeds prior to potential capital gains tax increases beginning in 2022.
In addition to valuation advisory, Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Peak, which included marketing of the business through confidential, structured sale processes, negotiation of the transactions, and ongoing advice and support to Todd and his team. As a result, multiple competitive offers were received for both businesses, and Majors Management, LLC was ultimately selected as the acquirer for the convenience retail and wholesale fuels business and Colonial Oil was selected as the acquirer for the commercial fuels and heating oil business.
After consulting with the Company’s tax advisors and given the tight timeline to close before December 31st, Matrix recommended focusing Company resources on the closing of the much larger convenience retail and wholesale fuels business. The transaction with Majors Management LLC closed in December 2021, approximately five months after Matrix was initially engaged, and the second transaction with Colonial Oil closed in June 2022.
About Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group
Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking 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 logistics, terminals and car washes. Group 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 valuations, special situations and strategic planning engagements. Since 1997, our Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group has successfully completed over 270 engagements with a total transaction value of more than $13 billion.
Cedric C. Fortemps, CFA
cfortemps@matrixcmg.com
804.591.2039