Situation
Brabham Oil Company, Inc. (“Brabham” or the “Company”) was a fourth generation, family owned company headquartered in Bamberg, South Carolina. The Company owned and operated 34 E-Z Shop branded convenience stores and supplied motor fuels to 6 commissioned agent accounts and nearly 30 wholesale fuels and commercial fuels accounts throughout central South Carolina. The Company also operated its own fuels transportation fleet.

All of the E-Z Shop stores and consignment sites, along with the majority of the dealer locations, sold motor fuels under Brabham’s proprietary Horizon fuel brand.

The Company’s President, Brab McCully, and his family sought to exit the convenience store and petroleum marketing business to diversify their wealth and focus on other business and real estate ventures.

Objective
To customize, execute, and complete a confidential sale process that would allow the McCully family to realize maximum after-tax value upon the sale of the Company.

Solution
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Brabham, which included valuation advisory, marketing of the Company through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction.

Multiple competitive offers were received, and Enmark Stations, Inc. (“Enmark”) was selected as the acquirer.

Matrix assisted in the negotiation of the asset purchase agreement and coordinated the due diligence and closing process. Matrix also assisted the Company’s tax advisor in developing a dynamic, comprehensive financial model to analyze the after-tax proceeds under a variety of unique 1031 exchange scenarios.

The transaction with Enmark and their wholly owned subsidiary, Colonial Fuel and Lubricant Services, Inc., closed in April 2018 with the vast majority of Brabham’s employees continuing their careers with Enmark.