Matrix Capital Markets Group provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Slidell Oil Company on its sale to Circle K Stores. Matrix’s services included performing valuation advisory, marketing the business through a sale process, and negotiating the transaction. The transaction was managed by Vance Saunders, CPA, managing director at Matrix; John Duni, CFA, CPA, vice president at Matrix; and Kyle Tipping, CFA, an associate at Matrix.
Slidell Oil Company owned a chain of convenience stores operated by commissioned agents under the company’s Purple Cow convenience store brand and provided wholesale motor fuels to a network of dealers. The company’s assets were located in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, with a significant market presence in Montgomery, AL, and Slidell, LA. The company marketed primarily Chevron and Shell branded motor fuels and supplied unbranded fuels to a few dealer locations.
Based in Slidell, LA, Slidell Oil Company is a third-generation family-owned business founded in 1948 as a Shell jobber and acquired by Willis A. Baker in 1952. Willis’ son, W.A. Baker Jr., joined the company in 1973 and continued to grow the business and expand the company’s marketing territory. By 1998, Brian Baker and Keith Baker, the company’s current owners and co-CEOs, joined the family business. Under their leadership, Slidell continued to grow organically by building new sites and acquiring customers. They also acquired Interstate Oil Company in 2011, which gave the business a significant presence in the Montgomery, AL, market. In 2016, the company sold its lubricants and commercial fuels divisions in order to focus on its retail and wholesale motor fuels businesses.
“Having been through a few previous acquisitions and dispositions, we selected Matrix based on their structured approach to the sale of our company,” Keith Baker and Brian Baker said in a joint statement. “Although it was a tough decision to sell, we believe it was the right time for us to exit the industry. Matrix was very professional and executed on an efficient process to achieve our goals and maximize the value of our assets. It was a pleasure working with Vance, John and Kyle.”
“The Baker family built an extremely strong company comprised of high-quality assets,” Saunders said. “We are grateful to have been selected as their advisor to monetize the value created by three generations of their family over the past 70 years. It has been a pleasure working with Brian and Keith and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
Brooks Milling and Chris Gill of Hand Arendall Harrison Sale and Paul Mayronne of Jones Fussell served as legal counsel to Slidell Oil Company on this transaction.
