The sale of an additional 13 convenience locations expected close in the coming weeks.
Thoroughbred Energy has closed on the sale of 21 petroleum marketing and convenience store assets and a wholesale business to TravelCenters of America.
Closings on the company’s additional 13 c-stores, mainly leased sites, are expected to occur over the next few weeks upon the satisfaction of certain closing conditions. TravelCenters of America is also the buyer on those locations.
TravelCenters has begun to operate all of the acquired stores and substantially all of the to-be-acquired stores. TravelCenters expects these 34 total convenience stores, which average over 3,100 square feet in size, will be rebranded as Minit Mart convenience stores and the sites will undergo improvements in the coming months.
Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. oversaw the sale.
Thoroughbred is based in Lexington, Ky., with operations clustered around the greater Lexington area and in southern Kentucky along Interstate 75.
The portfolio of assets includes 32 company-operated convenience stores, two dealer-operated convenience stores and their related fuel supply contracts, and wholesale fuel supply contracts for another 11 dealer locations. Seventeen of the convenience stores are owned fee simple, and the remaining 17 convenience stores are leased or ground leased. Thoroughbred’s high quality convenience stores averaged 3,000 square feet and offered a wide variety of convenience merchandise and motor fuels at all of the locations. All of the stores are Shell branded.
Thoroughbred is a first generation, privately-owned company founded in 1986 by Dudley Webb, a commercial real estate developer, along with Paul Koshgerian, a college roommate whose background was in motor fuels distribution.
At the time, Lexington was a direct supply market for Shell. Jay Hall, an experienced restaurant chain operator, joined the company in 1987 and has managed the operations of the company for the last 28 years. In 1996, the company entered into a joint venture with Shell whereby the parties contributed their real estate holdings in the Lexington market to the joint venture and Thoroughbred became the Lexington area jobber for Shell.
The company expanded rapidly over the next eight years, and in 2004, Thoroughbred bought out Shell’s ownership in the joint venture. Thoroughbred has since continued its expansion through site acquisitions and building new-to-industry sites.
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Thoroughbred, which included valuation advisory, marketing of the company through a customized, confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. The transaction was co-managed by Cedric Fortemps, managing director and Vance Saunders, director. Tom Kelso, managing director and head of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Retail Group, also advised on the transaction.
“The decision to exit the industry was a tough one for the Thoroughbred team,” said Hall. “The founders, our fourth partner and attorney Mr. Ronald Tritschler, and all our great employees poured their lives into this company for nearly three decades. The relationships found and fostered will remain. This transition was certainly made easier with the help of Matrix, whose advice and guidance was essential to achieving a successful outcome.”
Fortemps commented, “We were honored to advise Thoroughbred’s owners on this sale and greatly enjoyed working closely with Mr. Hall and the rest of the Thoroughbred team. The buyer has acquired a tremendous chain of stores in a very attractive and improving Lexington market with this acquisition.”
“Dudley Webb, together with Mr. Hall, built an exceptional company and we congratulate them on their successful exit from the industry,” added Kelso.
Bryce Jewett, Ryan Messier and Scott Weber of McGuireWoods LLP served as legal counsel for Thoroughbred.