Matrix Serves as Exclusive Advisor to North American Propane, Inc. on its Sale to NGL Energy Partners LP

RICHMOND, VA – February 8, 2012 – Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today the sale of North American Propane, Inc. (“NAP”) to NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE: NGL) for approximately $66.8 million in cash, subject to adjustment for certain assumed liabilities, working capital and other specified items. North American Propane operates as a large regional retail and wholesale distributor of propane, distillates and industrial gases to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers.

Headquartered in Taunton, Massachusetts, NAP serves the Northeast and parts of the Mid- Atlantic, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. NAP was acquired in 2003 by management and majority shareholder Albion Investors, a private equity firm focused on middle market buyouts. Matrix Capital Markets Group served as exclusive financial advisor to North American Propane. The transaction was led by Mike Morrison, Bill Kerkam, David Shoulders and William O’Flaherty. Mike Morrison, Managing Director and Principal at Matrix commented, “This is the second company we have sold for Albion in the last year. This is a great result for customers, ownership and NGL.”

Mark Arnold, Managing Partner at Albion Investors said, “Since 2003, NAP has grown rapidly through the acquisition of 14 companies in the propane, distillate and industrial gas segments. The resulting geographic reach and customer base aligns well with NGL’s business and product offering.” According to H. Michael Krimbill, Chief Executive Officer of NGL Energy Partners, “This purchase expands our operations in the New England market and provides entry into the Mid-Atlantic market of the U.S. NAP serves in excess of 50,000 customers and delivers about 18 million gallons of retail volume, 8 million gallons of wholesale propane volume, and 10 million gallons of distillate volume annually.”

Charlie Gonzales, Managing Director at Albion Investors said, “We appreciate the guidance and efforts of the Matrix team who worked tirelessly to bring this transaction to a close. They did an excellent job putting the transaction together and we were very pleased with the outcome.” Bill Kerkam, Senior Vice President at Matrix, added, “The attractive geographic market and size of the transaction allowed us to generate significant interest from multiple players in the industry. The strategic fit with NGL is very apparent and we look forward to seeing them benefit from the Company’s strong foothold in the New England and Mid-Atlantic markets.”

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has provided merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned and publicly traded companies. Our primary advisory services include company sales, asset divestitures, recapitalizations, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate recovery, fairness opinions and valuations. Matrix has served clients in a wide range of industries, including industrial manufacturing and distribution, building products, business services, consumer products, healthcare, lumber and petroleum marketing & distribution. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.

Securities offered by Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.


Matrix Announces the Successful Sale of Triton Marketing, Inc.

BALTIMORE, MD - January 13, 2011 – Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. (“Matrix”) announced today the successful closing on the sale of the wholesale distribution assets of Atlanta, GA based Triton Marketing, Inc. (“Triton”) to Cary Oil Company, Inc. (“Cary”) of Cary, NC. The asset portfolio is comprised of over one-hundred and twenty-five (125) gasoline and diesel customers including branded-contract, unbranded contract, and non-contract dealers, carrying the Chevron, Texaco, CITGO, Phillips 66, Exxon, Mobil, and Shell flags.

Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Triton, which included valuation advisory, asset marketing through a structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. Matrix executed a customized marketing process for the assets that successfully balanced Triton’s desire to market the assets while retaining the principals’ need for confidentiality in a highly competitive business environment. Triton was presented with twelve potential suitors for the Company. They ultimately entered into a deal with Cary who emerged as the best suitor in regard to both consideration and as the future employer of Triton’s key personnel.

Jimmy Patton, President of Triton, commented on the transaction, “We appreciate the advice, hard work and creativity Matrix provided in marketing our Company.”

The transaction was managed by Tom Kelso, Managing Director and head of the Matrix Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group, Spencer Cavalier, Director and Matt Murphy, Senior Associate. Mr. Kelso commented, “We greatly appreciate the opportunity to have worked with Mr. Patton and his management team on the successful sale to Cary. The quality and positioning of Triton’s assets combined with their exceptional management team made the business a very attractive opportunity and were the driving factors in achieving a successful result.”

The acquisition significantly expands Cary’s market presence in Georgia, and provides a solid platform for future growth in the Southeast. Mark Bevill, Executive Vice President and CFO of Triton, along with Mark Barron, Vice President of Marketing of Triton, have joined Cary and will spearhead future growth in the greater Georgia markets.

Gregory A. Randall of Holt Ney Zatcoff & Wasserman, LLP served as legal counsel for Triton, while Rick Stephenson of Stephenson, Stephenson & Gray, LLP served as legal counsel for Cary Oil.


Matrix Announces the Successful Sale of Lehigh Gas Stores

RICHMOND, VA - January 3, 2011 – Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. (“Matrix”) announced today the successful closing on the sale of select retail assets of Lehigh Gas Corporation, a petroleum marketer and convenience store operator in the Northeast. The assets, located in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey include both company-operated and dealer-operated stores.

These sales are part of Lehigh’s ongoing efforts to rationalize its existing assets as part of its overall plan to continue growth through opportunistic acquisitions. Matrix executed a structured and customized marketing process for the assets, which yielded multiple competitive offers that provided Lehigh Gas with an array of options to maximize the value of the assets. In all, 40 stores will be sold. Twenty-five (25) of the stores were purchased by Sunoco on December 22, three (3) stores were sold to individual dealers, and closings on the remaining twelve (12) stores will occur over the next few weeks. Joe Topper, CEO of Lehigh Gas, commented on the transaction, “I appreciate Matrix’s strategic review of our business and management of the sale process, which has helped us achieve greater enterprise value.”

Tom Kelso, Managing Director and head of the Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group at Matrix, who managed the transaction said, “We were honored to be selected by Lehigh Gas to handle these transactions. We enjoyed working with Joe Topper, Lehigh’s CEO, Dave Hrinak, Lehigh’s President, and their management team in helping to achieve Lehigh’s goal of monetizing assets in order to reinvest the capital and grow in their core markets.” Matt Murphy, Senior Associate with Matrix, who co-managed the transaction added, “The quality and positioning of Lehigh’s assets combined with the exceptional way these stores were managed created a very attractive opportunity and were the driving factors in achieving an extremely successful result.”

To learn more about Lehigh Gas Corporation, visit http://www.lehighgas.com


Matrix Concludes Successful M&A Deal Summit

RICHMOND, VA - November 15, 2010 – Matrix Capital Markets Group announces the successful completion of the Matrix Petroleum/C-Store M&A Deal Summit sponsored by Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) held on November 11-12, 2010 at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, MA.

It was a lively, fun and informative event where attendees were divided into two teams that competed to buy a group of convenience store and petroleum marketing assets being offered for sale by a fictitious seller. Each team was challenged to value the assets, assess the environmental issues, analyze legal issues, and ultimately prepare and submit an asset purchase agreement. The sale process included multiple rounds of bidding and the participants learned how to navigate a structured sale process. Each team was advised by experienced M&A professionals from Matrix, environmental experts from Delta Consultants, and experienced attorneys from Ober Kaler Grimes & Shriver and Hunton & Williams. At the end of the Summit, a winning team was selected and prizes were awarded. As an added bonus, Dr. George Overstreet from the McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia, presented some original research about valuation, real estate and the need for business owners to think like investors.

There were 26 participants including individuals from Graft Oil, Cumberland Farms, Irving Oil, Leavesley Chevron, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Quik-Way Group, Delta Oil, NACS, Dead River Company, Petrobras, Morgan Stanley, Tedeschi Food Shops, Inc., Certified Oil, SpeedyQ Markets, Strauch Companies, Cadena Comercial Oxxo, S.A. de C.V., Alliance Energy, Klein Capital and Manchester Marketing, Inc.

“This is the second year that Matrix has spearheaded this event in conjunction with OPIS and we were delighted to be a part of it. Our goal was to put on an event that was both educational and fun and where the participants had plenty of interaction with the professionals and with each other. Based on the feedback we received after the event, I feel like we accomplished that goal”, said Tom Kelso, Managing Director and head of the Matrix Energy & Multi-Site Retail Group.

Matrix's Energy and Multi-Site 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 store chains, petroleum marketers, fuels distributors, retail propane distributors, heating oil distributors, lubes retailers and distributors, terminal operators, fuels transportation companies, hospitality companies, and other specialty retail chains. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, private debt and equity raises, corporate restructurings, and corporate valuations and strategic planning engagements. Since its inception in 1997, this dedicated group has successfully advised on over 75 engagements in these sectors.


Matrix Successfully Advised Advantor Systems in Obtaining an Equity Investment by McCarthy Capital

Richmond, VA – September 1, 2010 – Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today that it has successfully advised Advantor Systems and its shareholders in obtaining an equity investment by McCarthy Capital. McCarthy Capital manages a $500 million private equity fund and is based in Omaha, NE with offices in Denver and Boston. Matrix served as the exclusive financial advisor to Advantor.

Advantor, headquartered in Orlando, FL, is a leading designer and integrator of physical security systems with extensive experience securing high-profile government, Department of Defense and commercial organizations. Their primary business provides security solutions to identify and manage threats to critical infrastructures. With over 1,000 systems deployed, Advantor aids in the design, integration, installation, training and servicing of security systems. www.advantor.com.

“We selected McCarthy Capital as our partner because of their experience, cultural compatibility, and partnership approach with their investments,” said Todd Flemming, President and CEO of Advantor. “In addition to providing us with growth capital to execute on current opportunities, we are excited about the expertise McCarthy Capital will bring to our employee-owned company.”

“The Matrix deal team worked tenaciously to guide this extraordinarily complicated transaction to closure. They saw the tremendous fit between our desire for a long-term, growth oriented partner and McCarthy’s unique understanding of the industry, and provided sound analysis and counsel to both sides throughout the process. We look forward to working with Matrix on our next transaction,” Flemming added.

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has provided merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned and publicly traded companies. Our primary advisory services include company sales, asset divestitures, recapitalizations, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate recovery, fairness opinions and valuations. Matrix has served clients in a wide range of industries, including industrial manufacturing and distribution, building products, business services, consumer products, healthcare, lumber and petroleum marketing & distribution. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.

Securities offered by Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.


Matrix Announces the Successful Sale of Quarles Petroleum’s Convenience Stores

RICHMOND, VA - July 6, 2010 – Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today the successful closing on the sale of the retail assets of Quarles Petroleum, Inc., a mid-Atlantic fuel oil distributor, propane supplier, motor fuels supplier, fleet fuel site provider, and convenience store chain. The retail stores are all located in Virginia and sell Shell branded and unbranded motor fuels.

Quarles began as a one-truck, family oil business in 1939, and today is a corporation that employs over 500 people across 7 states. Quarles distributes over 150 million gallons of motor fuels, heating oil, and propane each year. In addition to Quarles’ core businesses in fuels distribution, the company was operating twenty (20) retail convenience stores with fuel offerings.

Late in 2009, Quarles decided to engage Matrix to structure and manage a confidential sale process in order to achieve maximum value in divesting of the Company’s retail assets and redeploy that capital into its other businesses. The extremely competitive sale process designed and executed by Matrix resulted in a sale of fourteen (14) of the stores to 7-Eleven, Inc. The remaining six (6) stores were sold to various other buyers. The closings on nineteen (19) of the stores have been completed as of today, with the remaining to occur in the next few weeks. As part of these agreements, all stores purchased will continue to accept Quarles’ fleet cards. Ben Wafle, President of Quarles’ Retail Division commented on the sale, “Matrix did a thoroughly professional job throughout the process and went above and beyond my expectations. We are very pleased with the results achieved.”

Tom Kelso, Managing Director and head of the Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group at Matrix managed the transaction and added, “It was an honor to be selected by Quarles to handle this transaction, and it was a pleasure working with Ben and his management team in achieving their goal of monetizing their retail assets to reinvest the capital into and grow their core businesses.” Cedric Fortemps, Senior Vice President with Matrix, who co-managed the transaction also commented, “The quality and positioning of Quarles retail assets combined with their exceptional management and store personnel made the business a very attractive opportunity and were the driving factors in achieving an extremely successful result for Quarles.”

Williams Mullen served as legal advisor to Quarles on the transaction.

To learn more about Quarles Petroleum, Inc., visit www.quarlesinc.com


Matrix Promotes Cedric Fortemps

RICHMOND, VA - July 1, 2010 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today that Cedric Fortemps has been promoted to Senior Vice President.

Mr. Fortemps has been a member of Matrix’s Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group and the Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice since joining the firm in 1998. Over the past dozen years, he has been a leading contributor on over seventy successful Matrix engagements including the sales of the Virginia assets of Delek U.S. Holdings, ZOOTS Dry Cleaning, Angus I. Hines, Inc., Huffman Oil Company, Briggs Hospitality, C. R. Quesenberry, Inc., and FFP Marketing Company, Inc.

Mr. Fortemps graduated cum laude with a B.S.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from the University of Richmond. He is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute. He is also a qualified Series 7, Series 63 and Series 79 FINRA General Securities Representative. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Richmond’s Student Managed Investment Fund and has been a guest lecturer for the University’s MBA Program.

Tom Kelso, a managing director and principal at Matrix and head of the firm’s Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group, commented "Cedric has provided excellent advice and service to our clients in helping them maximize the value of their companies over the last dozen years and it is a privilege to work with such a dedicated and talented investment banker."

Matrix's Energy and Multi-Site 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 store chains, petroleum marketers, fuels distributors, retail propane distributors, heating oil distributors, lubes retailers and distributors, terminal operators, fuels transportation companies, hospitality companies, and other specialty retail chains. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, private debt and equity raises, corporate restructurings, and corporate valuations and strategic planning engagements. Since its inception in 1997, this dedicated group has successfully advised on over 70 transactions in these sectors.


Matrix Announces the Successful Recapitalization of Stalcop LP

RICHMOND, VA - April 27, 2010 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today that it has successfully completed the recapitalization of Stalcop LP by Alpha Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Chicago, IL.

Stalcop, headquartered in Thorntown, IN and with additional manufacturing facilities in Germany and the Czech Republic, first opened its doors in 1981. As a leading manufacturer of custom designed cold formed and precision machined components and sub-assemblies, the company serves a variety of end markets, including the power semiconductor, automotive, power transmission & distribution, heavy duty truck, specialty battery, ordinance and ammunition markets. The recapitalization with Alpha Capital will serve to strengthen the company's position as a leading cold forming specialist and will better position Stalcop for future growth.

“We are very pleased with Alpha Capital’s investment in Stalcop, which will provide capital for a balance sheet recapitalization and growth capital to seize market opportunities in 2010,” said Ron St. Clair, President and CEO of Stalcop. “We are also very pleased with the advisory services provided by Matrix. They spent the time to really learn our business and provided us with solid advice in a difficult environment for raising capital. Once our capital objectives were quantified, Matrix identified potential investors and then worked tirelessly to help negotiate a transaction that met the objectives of both Stalcop and Alpha Capital.”

Matrix served as the exclusive financial advisor to Stalcop. The transaction was managed by Bill Weirich, Managing Director, Bryan Johnson, Vice President, and Chris Menasco, Associate. Bill Weirich added, “We have known Ron St. Clair for over ten years, dating back to when Stalcop was a potential buyer in another transaction. It was a pleasure to work with Ron and his team again on this recapitalization of Stalcop, which will allow the company to execute on its current and future growth initiatives.”

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has provided merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned and publicly traded companies. Our primary advisory services include company sales, asset divestitures, recapitalizations, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate recovery, fairness opinions and valuations. Matrix has served clients in a wide range of industries, including industrial manufacturing and distribution, building products, business services, consumer products, healthcare, lumber and petroleum marketing & distribution. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.

Securities offered by Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.


Matrix Hires Senior Analyst

RICHMOND, VA - April 20, 2010 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that Sean P. Dooley has joined the firm’s Energy and Multi- Site Retail Group as a Senior Analyst. He will be responsible for conducting financial, industry, and buyer research, creating valuation and financing models, and preparing selling and private placement memoranda.

Prior to his new position with Matrix, Mr. Dooley was a member of the Forensic and Valuation Services Group at Ellin & Tucker, Chartered, a large regional accounting and consulting firm, where he gained extensive experience in financial analysis and business valuation. Before joining Ellin & Tucker, he was an analyst with the Federal Systems Group of Unisys Corporation. Mr. Dooley graduated from East Carolina University with a B.S.B.A. with a concentration in Finance. He is also a candidate member of the American Society of Appraisers.

“We are delighted to have Sean join the Matrix team,” said Tom Kelso, Managing Director of Matrix’s Energy & Multi-Site Retail Group. “His extensive background and expertise will be a valuable asset to not only our clients, but the company as well.”

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has provided merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned and publicly traded companies. Our primary advisory services include company sales, asset divestitures, recapitalizations, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate recovery, fairness opinions and valuations. Matrix has served clients in a wide range of industries, including industrial manufacturing and distribution, building products, business services, consumer products, healthcare, lumber and petroleum marketing & distribution. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.

Securities offered by Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.


Matrix Advises on the Successful Sale of O’Sullivan Films, Inc. in a Cross Border Transaction

RICHMOND, VA – March 24, 2010 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today that it has successfully advised on the sale of O’Sullivan Films, Inc. to Konrad Hornschuch AG of Weissbach, Germany. This strategic acquisition is part of an overall plan to further expand geographically, as well as deliver additional products and services to the market. Matrix served as exclusive financial advisor to O’Sullivan Films on the transaction and LeClairRyan acted as legal advisor.

O’Sullivan Films is located in Winchester, VA and has 350 employees. The company was founded over 100 years ago and is a recognized leader in the production and commercialization of polymer films and finishing film technologies serving the building products, consumer, healthcare and automotive markets. Konrad Hornschuch, with 800 employees worldwide, is a leading producer and marketer of highly technical films, foils and artificial leather for the home decor, fashion, furniture, automotive and construction related markets through its well known brands d-c-fix® and Skai®. The combined entities generated revenues of nearly $300 million in 2009.

“We are excited to be associated with O’Sullivan Films. This is a very good company with a long standing tradition of excellence in North America. The O’Sullivan Films name and management team will remain in place. Together, we will be able to offer better value and solutions to our growing customer base,” said Rolf J. Gemmersdoerfer, CEO of Konrad Hornschuch AG.

According to Denis Belzile, CEO of O’Sullivan Films, “We feel that Konrad Hornschuch will be an excellent partner for O’Sullivan Films and the combination of our two companies offers tremendous potential. The team at Matrix, especially Jeff Moore, provided invaluable advice to us throughout the entire transaction. They did an outstanding job in an environment where the dynamics were very complex.”

Jeff Moore, Managing Director with Matrix added, “Although this was an extremely complicated transaction, we were aided by the outstanding performance of the O’Sullivan Films management team. We enjoyed working with them and in particular Denis Belzile, who was very hands-on during the transaction and played a pivotal role in bringing things to a successful close.”

Matrix also served as the investment bank for O’Sullivan Films when it was acquired from PolyOne Corporation by its management team and investors in 2006.

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has provided merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned and publicly traded companies. Our primary advisory services include company sales, asset divestitures, recapitalizations, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate recovery, fairness opinions and valuations. Matrix has served clients in a wide range of industries, including industrial manufacturing and distribution, building products, business services, consumer products, healthcare, lumber and petroleum marketing & distribution. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.

Securities offered by Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.


Matrix Advises the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of United Fuel & Energy Corporation on its Merger with SC Fuels

RICHMOND, VA - February 16, 2010 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc.(“Matrix”) announced today that it provided financial advisory services and a fairness opinion to the Special Committee (the “Special Committee”) of the Board of Directors for United Fuel & Energy Corporation (Pink Sheets: UFEN) (“United Fuel”) on its merger with Southern Counties Oil Co. (“SC Fuels”), and its wholly-owned acquisition subsidiary, Goldstream, Inc. (“Goldstream”).

United Fuel is engaged in the business of distributing gasoline, diesel and lubricant products primarily in certain markets of Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. United Fuel represents the consolidation of numerous companies, the most significant of which was the Eddins-Walcher Company and Cardlock FuelsSystem. SC Fuels is a California limited partnership that distributes petroleum products throughout the Western United States.

Matrix’s advisory team was led by Tom Kelso, Managing Director, Spencer Cavalier, Director, and Cedric Fortemps, Vice President. Spencer Cavalier added, “It was an honor to work with the members of the Special Committee who did an excellent job maximizing shareholder value.”

Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated acted as legal advisor for United Fuel and Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. served as legal advisor for the Special Committee. Rutan & Tucker, LLP served as legal advisor to SC Fuels.

Matrix's Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group is recognized as the national leader in providing transactional advisory services to companies in the downstream energy and multi-site retail sectors. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, private debt and equity raises, corporate restructurings, and corporate valuation and long term planning engagements. These sectors include companies such as convenience store chains, petroleum marketers, fuels distributors, retail propane distributors, heating oil distributors, lubes retailers and distributors, terminal operators, fuels transportation companies, hospitality companies, and other specialty retail chains.


Matrix Advises State of Connecticut’s Department of Transportation

RICHMOND, VA - February 4, 2010 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today that it has successfully advised the Connecticut Department of Transportation on a thirty-five (35) year agreement with Project Service LLC to overhaul and manage the operations of the state’s twenty-three (23) owned travel plazas located on I-95, I-395, the Merritt Parkway, and the Wilbur Cross Parkway.

Project Service LLC is a joint venture of Doctor’s Associates, the parent company of SUBWAY, and The Carlyle Group, a global private equity fund. Under the agreement, Project Service and its tenants will invest approximately $178,000,000 to complete upgrades and improvements to the facilities. In total, the State of Connecticut expects to receive approximately $500,000,000 of economic benefit over the life of the agreement, including a commitment from Project Service to invest to upgrade and refresh the plazas again just prior to the contract’s expiration.

The redevelopment project will result in additional and improved retail offerings at the facilities, all of which will include SUBWAY restaurants after the completion of the upgrades. In addition, certain plazas will include Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, and other restaurants and shops and all of the facilities will have fuel islands and convenience stores operated by Alliance Energy, LLC.

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell summarized the agreement as “an unprecedented commitment to economic development, jobs and meeting the needs of the traveling public”.

Matrix provided financial advisory services to the State including analyzing the economics and potential returns for State and other financial and non-financial aspects of the transaction, including environmental matters, the structure of the agreement, and financial covenants to include in the agreement. This engagement was managed by Tom Kelso, Managing Director, Cedric Fortemps, Vice President, and Vance Saunders, Associate.

Matrix's Energy and Multi-Site 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 store chains, petroleum marketers, fuels distributors, retail propane distributors, heating oil distributors, lubes retailers and distributors, terminal operators, fuels transportation companies, hospitality companies, and other specialty retail chains. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, private debt and equity raises, corporate restructurings, and corporate valuations and strategic planning engagements. Since its inception in 1997, this dedicated group has successfully advised on over 65 transactions in these sectors.


Matrix Announces the Successful Sale of Uni-Marts’ Assets

BALTIMORE, MD - January 11, 2010 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today the successful sale and closing of all of the retail convenience stores and petroleum distribution assets of Uni-Marts, LLC., et al, Debtors-in- Possession in Case No. 08-11037 (MFW) of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The assets were sold pursuant to Court Orders approving the sale of the assets to various purchasers and the Second Amended Joint Plan of Liquidation of Uni-Marts, LLC and its Affiliated Debtors dated December 30, 2009.

144 of the assets were purchased by Kwik Pik, LLC, an affiliate of Lehigh Gas Corporation. The closing of the sale of 138 of the assets to Kwik Pik was completed on December 30, 2009 with a closing on the remaining 6 assets on January 8, 2010. 60 of the assets were sold to 25 various other purchasers and those closings occurred at various times during the period from October 30, 2009 through January 7, 2010.

Of the assets Kwik Pik purchased, there were 59 company-operated locations and 85 wholesale dealer accounts. 9 of the dealer accounts included real estate control. 53 of the assets purchased by other buyers were company-operated locations and 7 were wholesale dealer accounts. All 7 of the dealer accounts included real estate control. The Uni-Mart assets were located in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.

Thomas E. Kelso, managing director and principal at Matrix, said “these closings are the culmination of a highly successful sale process which required an enormous amount of hard work on the part of the Debtors, the Debtors’ professionals, the professionals employed by The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and Kwik Pik.” In addition to Matrix, the Debtors were represented by the law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP and the financial consulting firm, Protiviti, Inc. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors was represented by the law firm of Blank Rome LLP and the financial advisory firm of Mesirow Financial.

 


Matrix Announces the Successful Sale of Jones & Frank Corporation

RICHMOND, VA - December 21, 2009 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today the sale of Jones & Frank Corp. to an investor group that was led by BB&T Capital Partners and included Parkway Capital Investors and the company’s former owners and existing management team. Senior and subordinated debt for the transaction was provided by SunTrust Bank and Parkway Capital Investors, respectively. Jones & Frank Corp., founded in 1945 and based in Norfolk, Virginia, is a leading provider of petroleum equipment and services to the retail and commercial segments of the petroleum industry along the East Coast. Matrix Capital Markets Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Jones & Frank. The transaction was led by Mike Morrison, Bill Kerkam, David Shoulders and Lauren Sharp.

Sterling Baker, CEO, noted that, “This transaction provided both liquidity for existing owners, as well as a mechanism to provide future ownership to employees.” O.L. Everett, former majority shareholder, added, “We hired Matrix Capital to execute a formal process and were very pleased with the results. BB&T Capital Partners emerged as the best choice to support the company’s continued growth and profitability.”

“BB&T Capital Partners is excited to partner with Sterling Baker, CEO, and the Jones & Frank team. Jones & Frank has a long tradition of providing high quality service and support to its customers, which has led to strong, long-standing customer relationships,” commented Martin Gilmore, Partner at BB&T Capital Partners. “This transaction will provide significant capital for continued growth, and in particular, an active industry consolidation strategy. We believe that there is significant opportunity in the fuel equipment distribution and service sector, as shifting demands, stiffening regulatory requirements and new technology drive continual change.”

Mike Morrison, Managing Director and Principal of Matrix Capital Markets Group, commented, “Jones & Frank’s consistent performance and strong management team enabled us to attract strong interest for this recapitalization. We are excited to see O.L. Everett and Sterling Baker begin a new partnership with an investor that understands the industry and shares their vision.”

In 2008, Jones & Frank won Gilbarco/Veeder-Root’s “Southern Distributor of the Year” award for its outstanding sales performance. The company employs over 200 employees. To learn more about Jones & Frank, visit their website at www.jones-frank.com.

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has provided merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned and publicly traded companies. Our primary advisory services include company sales, asset divestitures, recapitalizations, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate recovery, fairness opinions and valuations. Matrix has served clients in a wide range of industries, including industrial manufacturing and distribution, building products, business services, consumer products, healthcare, lumber and petroleum marketing & distribution. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.

Securities offered by Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.


Hunter Hotels and Matrix to Provide Unique Advisory Services to Lodging Companies with Distressed Assets

RICHMOND, VA - October 6, 2009 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. (“Matrix”) and Hunter Hotels (“Hunter”) are pleased to announce that they will partner to provide advisory solutions to lodging companies with financially distressed hotel properties. The broad array of services provided by the partnership will include the restructuring of debt, corporate recapitalization and/or the sale of some or all of the assets.

Matrix and Hunter have successfully advised on the sale of hotels for over 30 years, as well as numerous transactions involving financially distressed companies operating in or outside of bankruptcy. Having managed these distressed asset sales, many under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and with unmatched hotel industry expertise and contacts, Hunter and Matrix will be able to advise operators on the complex issues they face as they seek to de-leverage their businesses.

Tom Kelso, a Managing Director and Principal at Matrix, said “We are excited about the advisory services that we will be able to offer through our partnership with Hunter Hotels. Our combined experiences and skill sets will provide a unique solution to help hotel owners preserve or realize as much value for their properties as possible.”
Hunter Hotels’ President Teague Hunter expressed great enthusiasm for the joint venture. "The continued stress in our industry has created a need for financial restructuring at many different companies. Matrix's long history of advising firms through difficult times, and our long history of advising hotel investors, together will give our clients access to the resources they need to thrive in the current environment."

About Hunter Hotels
Hunter Hotels, founded in 1978, has offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and Dallas. The firm’s exclusive focus is in hotel brokerage and financing.

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group is a leading middle-market investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has focused on providing merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for corporate and privately-held companies, including sales and divestitures, Staged Liquidity Transactions®, management buyouts, and debt & equity placements.


Matrix Formalizes Strategic Planning and Corporate Valuation Services for Clients

BALTIMORE, MD - October 1, 2009 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc.’s Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group (EMR) announced today that it will now formally offer Strategic Planning and Corporate Valuation consulting services in addition to the other investment banking services it currently provides. These services are designed to assist petroleum marketers and convenience store companies with their long range financial planning. Matrix has always provided these services upon request, but has decided to formalize the offering due to increased demand. Matrix already provides merger and acquisition advisory and execution expertise for both sell-side and buy-side transactions and capital raising and corporate restructuring services.

Matrix’s Strategic Planning and Corporate Valuation services team will be led by Spencer P. Cavalier, a Director at Matrix. Mr. Cavalier is a CFA Charterholder and designated as an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in business valuation with the American Society of Appraisers. In addition to Mr. Cavalier, Cedric Fortemps, Vice President, Matt Murphy, Associate, and Vance Saunders, Associate will also be providing expertise in this area. Mr. Fortemps and Mr. Murphy also hold the very prestigious CFA designation, and Mr. Saunders is a CPA. Matrix’s EMR Group offers its clients over 100 years of combined investment banking and operational experience and has completed over 50 M&A transactions in the petroleum marketing and convenience store industry.

For companies that may be considering a transaction in the next few years, Matrix’s Strategic Planning services will aid shareholders in maximizing future equity value. In most cases, this involves positioning the business in the most appealing way to potential buyers prior to a sale. Matrix will conduct an external assessment of the business to ensure that the client is focusing on the key drivers that will increase exit price and identify weaknesses a buyer would highlight during the due diligence process. Strategic planning includes valuation, a growth strategy, an operational improvement plan, and an assessment of how different buyers will value the business and position it accordingly. Matrix will identify and value potential synergies for buyers as well as identify risk factors and recommend ways to manage and reduce these risks so that they do not reduce the future transaction value.

Matrix will provide business valuation services to companies and their underlying securities, including common equity, partnership and limited liability company interests, convertible and preferred securities, options, warrants, and debt instruments. Both informal and formal valuations are provided for the following purposes: long and short-term corporate planning, solvency and capital adequacy opinions, fairness opinions, buy-sell agreements, financial acquisition/divestiture, strategic acquisition/divestiture, take private transactions, estate and gift tax planning, and estate settlement. The Firm’s valuation work is supported by extensive transactional and operational experience, allowing it to assess complex transactions.

Tom Kelso, Managing Director and Principal at Matrix remarked, “These services are a natural extension of our long-term commitment to assisting petroleum marketers and convenience store companies build and realize substantial value for their companies. Having three CFA Charterholders, a person with valuation certifications and a CPA all on one dedicated team is highly unusual in the world of middle-market investment banking. We are very pleased to offer their expertise to our clients.”

About Matrix’s Energy & Multi-Site Retail Group
Matrix's Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group is recognized as the national leader in providing transactional advisory services to companies in the downstream energy and multi-site retail sectors. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, private debt and equity raises, corporate restructurings, and corporate valuation and long term planning engagements. Matrix’s dedicated group has successfully advised on over 50 transactions in these sectors.

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group is a leading middle-market investment bank headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Since 1988, Matrix has focused on providing merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for corporate and privately-held companies, including sales and divestitures, Staged Liquidity Transactions®, management buyouts, and debt & equity placements.


Matrix Announces Uni-Marts Bankruptcy Results

BALTIMORE, MD - September 24, 2009 - Kwik Pik, LLC, (“Kwik Pik”) an affiliate of Lehigh Gas Corporation and other various parties were named the successful bidders of the Uni-Marts’ assets for a total of approximately $19.6 million plus assumption of certain of the Debtor’s liabilities in an auction managed by Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. (“Matrix”). The auction, which was held in Wilmington, DE on September 23rd, featured highly organized and competitive bidding that lasted nearly fifteen hours with over 200 participating bidders.

Kwik Pik’s Stalking Horse Bid, which was approved by the Delaware District of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court earlier this month, established $16.7 million purchase price for 207 Uni-Marts’ assets of which $10.0 million was allocated to assets in Ohio and $6.7 million was allocated to assets in Pennsylvania and New York. The final purchase price for the assets of approximately $19.6 million represents a 17% improvement to the Stalking Horse Bid. Kwik Pik won the auction for the Ohio assets for $10.0 million, while Kwik Pik and twenty-five other successful bidders combined to push the value for the Pennsylvania assets to $9.6 million, which represents an improvement of 43%. In addition to the cash proceeds successful bidders are assuming a substantial portion of the debtor’s liabilities, which further improves the value to the Debtor’s estate.

Tom Kelso, managing director and principal of Matrix, commented, “We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Debtor to deliver maximum value for the assets to Uni-Marts’ creditors. We developed and executed a customized sales process that covered over 200 assets across three states that was successful in selling every asset and providing a very substantial return to the creditors.” The sales are subject to the approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and are expected to close during the middle of November.


Matrix Announces Details Related to Uni-Marts Stalking Horse Bid

BALTIMORE, MD – September 8, 2009 - Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. (“Matrix”) has provided further details on the Uni-Marts Bankruptcy Stalking Horse Bid. Kwik Pik, LLC (“Kwik Pik”), an affiliate of Lehigh Gas Corporation, was approved as the Stalking Horse Bidder in the Uni-Marts Bankruptcy Asset Sale by the Delaware District of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court last week.

As previously reported, the Kwik Pik Agreement (“Agreement”) provides for a purchase price of $10 million for the Ohio assets and $6.7 million for the assets located in Pennsylvania and New York. The proposed transaction should close towards the end of October if Kwik Pik is declared the ultimate winner at the conclusion of the auction process.

Under the Agreement Kwik Pik is obligated to close the transaction at those values or higher as the Agreement is “as is where is” without any environmental, financing, or other contingencies. Additionally, no purchase price reductions are permitted as Kwik Pik has waived the rights to any further due diligence. Kwik Pik is also subject to forfeit a $500,000 escrow deposit if they do not close on the transaction.

The Agreement also provides the estate with an opportunity to increase the value above $16.7 million. Under the Agreement, single store and small group bidding will be permitted on all of the Uni-Marts assets. There are one-hundred and thirtyone assets included in Kwik Pik’s “all or none” provision while seventy-six assets are not covered by the “all or none” provision ensuring prospective buyers who are interested in acquiring one or two stores that they can compete for the asset(s) without facing the constraints of an “all or none” bid.

Minimum Bids for the assets have been adjusted to conform with the Kwik Pik Agreement. The total for all of the Minimum Bids in Pennsylvannia and New York has been revised to $6.8 million, which includes the $6.7 million purchase price plus a $100,000 break-up fee if Kwik Pik is not selected as the winner at auction. The net adjustment is reflected in the Minimum Bids for the fuels distribution assets, which have been revised down from $1.28 million to $876,000. The total of the Minimum Bids for the Ohio assets remains $8.6 million.

Tom Kelso, managing director and principal of Matrix, noted “this sale process, like all sale processes run by Matrix, is developed to maximize the value for the assets included in this particular sale and is not a one size fits all process. The Kwik Pik Agreement allows us to create an auction process designed to ensure we have a competitive auction and to maximize the value for the company’s creditors.” The live auction is scheduled for September 23, 2009 in Wilmington, Delaware.

About Matrix’s Energy & Multi-Site Retail Group
Matrix's Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group is recognized as the national leader in providing transactional advisory services to companies in the downstream energy and multi-site retail sectors. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, private debt and equity raises, corporate restructurings, and corporate valuation and long term planning engagements. Matrix’s dedicated group has successfully advised on over 50 transactions in these sectors.

About Matrix Capital Markets Group
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA. Since 1988, Matrix has provided merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned and publicly traded companies. Our primary advisory services include company sales, asset divestitures, recapitalizations, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate recovery, fairness opinions and valuations. Matrix has served clients in a wide range of industries, including industrial manufacturing and distribution, building products, business services, consumer products, healthcare, lumber and petroleum marketing & distribution. For additional information, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.

Securities offered by Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.