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By: Danielle Romano, 10/21/2025
ORANGE, Calif. — SC Fuels, a subsidiary of Pilot Travel Centers LLC, is picking up the assets of petroleum marketer Downs Energy.
Originally founded in 1930, SC Fuels is one of the oldest and largest family-owned petroleum distributors in the United States, serving more than 11,000 customers annually. As part of the latest transaction, the company will pick up Downs Energy’s six cardlocks, large fleet card customer base, delivered fuels and lubricants distribution businesses, which service commercial and municipal customers throughout Southern California.
Headquartered in Corona, Calif., Downs Energy was founded in 1940 when Elvin Downs became a wholesale distributor for Standard Oil Co. In 1975, Elvin’s son, John, and his wife Catherine, assumed leadership of the company and introduced a “key lock” system for around-the-clock fuel sales at unattended sites — a precursor to today’s cardlock facilities.
During the 1980s, their children, Mike and Sherry, joined the company. In 1989, Downs Energy became a member of the then newly established nationwide Commercial Fueling Network, beginning a long-standing partnership that continues to this day.
Mike Downs became president of the company in 1992, and he and Sherry continued to expand the business by opening three additional cardlock sites in the 1990s, and acquired and built two additional cardlocks over the last 10 years. Under their leadership, the business also focused on further developing its delivered fuels and lubricants distribution businesses, which deliver fuels along with Phillips 66 and Petro-Canada branded lubricants across Southern California.
Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. provided merger-and-acquisition advisory services to Downs Energy, including valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the sale of the company and lease of the facilities to Pilot. The transaction was managed by Cedric Fortemps, CFA, cohead of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group; David Corbett, CFA, director; and Michael Corliss, analyst.
“Over three generations, the Downs family has built one of the leading cardlock, fleet card and fuels and lubricants distribution businesses in the industry by focusing on continuous investment in their state-of-the-art cardlock facilities and best-in-class customer service. We were honored to have advised them on the sale of the company,” Fortemps said.
Gary Fitzpatrick and Sam Reep of Brown & Streza LLP served as legal counsel for Downs Energy. Matthew Jann of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP served as legal counsel for Pilot.
Headquartered in Orange, SC Fuels supplies product primarily throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. Currently, it is among the top national distributors for Chevron, Shell, Phillips 66 and BP Castrol lubricants.