Situation
The Hartley Company (“Hartley” or the “Company”) was founded 1912, by W.H. Hartley when he built the country’s first service station located between Columbus, Ohio and the Pennsylvania state line.

In 1925, Hartley became a distributor for Shell Oil Company and quickly grew from 10 stations to one of the largest jobberships in Ohio.  In the 1970s, The Hartley Company established the Starfire brand concept to distinguish itself from other independent operators.

The Starfire branding revitalized the Company, and in the 2000s, under the fifth generation of Hartley leadership, the Company opportunistically acquired three dozen stores from BP.  Hartley grew to directly operated 16 retail locations with ~150 store employees and supply 24 dealer or commission marketer operated sites.

The Company’s President, Doug Hartley, and his family sought to exit the convenience store and petroleum marketing business to diversify their wealth and reinvest in other family companies.  Matrix was engaged to perform a valuation of the Company and advise on a possible sale process.

Objective
To customize, execute, and complete a confidential sale process that would allow the Company’s shareholders to realize maximum after-tax value upon the sale of Hartley

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

Multiple competitive offers were received, and Campbell Oil Company was ultimately selected as the acquirer.

Matrix assisted in the negotiation of the purchase agreement and coordinated the due diligence and closing process.

The transaction with Campbell Oil Company closed in October 2019.