RICHMOND, VA – January 8, 2015 – Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced today the successful closing on the sale of Warren Equities, Inc. (“Warren” or the “Company”), which is owned by The Warren Alpert Foundation (the “Foundation”). Through Warren’s subsidiaries, Warex Terminals Corporation, Inc. and Drake Petroleum Company, Inc., the Company operates 147 Xtra Mart convenience stores, supplies motor fuels to 53 commission dealer sites and supplies motor fuels to over 300 contract dealers. For the trailing twelve months ended February 28, 2014, the Company sold 521 million gallons of motor fuels. One hundred percent (100%) of the equity interest in Warren was purchased by a subsidiary of Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP) for approximately $387 million, including working capital, subject to post-closing adjustments.
The Company operates in 10 states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. In addition to its proprietary Xtra Fuels brand, the Company markets fuel through several major brands, including Exxon, Mobil, Shell, BP, Sunoco, CITGO, Gulf and Valero.
Matrix Private Equities, Inc., an affiliate of Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., provided merger and acquisition advisory services to the Company and the Foundation, which included valuation advisory, marketing the Company through a customized, confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. The transaction was co-managed by Thomas Kelso, Managing Director and Head of the Downstream Energy and Retail Group and Cedric Fortemps, Managing Director. Vance Saunders, Director, and Stephen Lynch, Associate also advised on the transaction.
The Company was founded by Warren Alpert in 1950 subsequent to his graduation from Harvard Business School with an M.B.A. in 1949. Mr. Alpert grew the business through acquisitions of heating oil and fuel distributors in the 50’s and 60’s, and in 1962, he acquired his first terminal. In 1977, the Company opened its first Xtra Mart convenience store, and over the next 25 years, the Company continued to expand through acquisitions and would rebrand its newly acquired stores to the Xtra Mart brand. Over the last 25 years, Warren sold its wholesale grocery business, its heating oil business and its fuel terminals, and concentrated on growing its retail convenience store operations and dealer business. Mr. Alpert passed away in 2007, and since that time the Company has been managed by Mr. Alpert’s nephew, Herb Kaplan, who serves as Chairman, and Gus Schiesser, who serves as President.
Mr. Kaplan said, “We were confident from the start that hiring Matrix was the right choice for us. Matrix’s professionals seamlessly accumulated, organized and disseminated the voluminous amount of data inherent with a transaction of this size. Their broad knowledge across all aspects of the business helped us to rationalize even the most difficult decisions. I am extremely pleased with Matrix, the process, and the results.”
Mr. Kelso commented, “Matrix is honored to have been chosen by Warren to sell this extraordinary business. The success of this transaction is an incredible reflection on the great work of Mr. Alpert and the incredible management team of Warren.”
Warren’s CFO, John Dziedzic, and its Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Jeffrey Walker, were also instrumental in navigating and closing the transaction.
Thomas P. Rohman and Bryce D. Jewett, III of McGuireWoods LLP in Richmond, VA provided legal counsel to the Foundation and the Company.