Situation
Pri Mar Petroleum, Inc. (“Pri Mar” or the “Company”) was a third-generation, family-owned and operated business headquartered in St. Joseph, Michigan. Pri Mar was founded in 1928 as Priebe Brothers Oil and operated as a distributor of petroleum products to farm, industrial, and home heating customers.

In 1972, the Richard Marzke took over the company and merged the two surnames to create Pri Mar Petroleum. Richard opened the Company’s first convenience store in Stevensville, Michigan in 1976. Richard began transitioning operation of the business to the third generation of family ownership in the 1980s. The third generation continued to expand the business, particularly the Company’s convenience store and contract dealer division.

At the time of the sale, the Company operated 13 convenience stores, supplied motor fuels to 12 contract dealer accounts, and operated 3 bulk plants supplying commercial fuels, heating oil, and lubricants products to customers throughout Southwestern Michigan.

Matrix was initially retained to perform a valuation of the Company. After considering the likely valuation range that could be achieved, the family engaged Matrix to advise on the sale of the Company.

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

Solution
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Pri Mar, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transactions.

Multiple offers were received, and ultimately it was determined that maximum value for the shareholders could be achieved by selling the Company to two different buyers. The convenience store and contract dealer business was sold to Blarney Castle Oil Co., and the delivered fuels and lubricants business was sold to Merle Boes, Inc.

Matrix advised on the negotiation of the asset purchase agreements, coordinated the due diligence processes, and managed the closing processes for both transactions.

Both transactions closed in May 2025.