RICHMOND, VA – August 13, 2018 – Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. (“Matrix”), a leading, independent middle-market investment bank, announces that it has advised Carolina Convenience Corporation (“Carolina Convenience” or the “Company”) on the sale of seven of its S-Mart branded convenience stores and its wholesale fuels distribution business in South Carolina to an affiliate of Dublin, Ireland based Applegreen plc and Petrogas Global Ltd.
Headquartered in Lexington, SC, Carolina Convenience operated eight S-Mart convenience stores in Columbia and supplied numerous dealers primarily in the Columbia market with a handful of dealers in eastern South Carolina. The Company was a jobber for BP, ExxonMobil, and Sunoco and also supplied unbranded motor fuels to a few of its dealers. The S-Mart stores offer BP and Exxon branded motor fuels as well as a full array of convenience merchandise, and one of the stores is cobranded with a Hardee’s restaurant. The Company will continue to operate the Hardee’s business post-closing as well as one convenience store at a separate location.
Carolina Convenience is a second generation, family owned company founded in 1981 by Madhu and Sulochana Shrivastava, and today the Company is managed by Madhu Shrivastava, Chairman & CEO, and Seema Shrivastava-Patel, President. In addition to its petroleum marketing and convenience store business, the Company also operates several Hardee’s restaurants in the Columbia market which were not included in the sale to Applegreen. After nearly 37 years of operation, the Company is divesting substantially all of their convenience store and petroleum marketing business to focus on the operation of its Hardee’s restaurants and other business ventures. As part of the transaction, Applegreen retained the Company’s convenience store employees at the acquired stores.
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Carolina Convenience, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. The transaction was managed by Vance Saunders, Managing Director, and John Duni, Associate. Thomas Kelso, Managing Director and Head of Matrix’s Downstream Energy and Convenience Retail Group, also advised on the transaction.
Mr. Shrivastava, Chairman & CEO, commented, “Matrix has been a great advisor and partner throughout this entire journey. They conducted a thorough financial analysis and handled detailed contract negotiations which resulted in a successful conclusion. Matrix’s knowledge and experience in this area definitely helped us increase the value of our business. I would like to thank God for his blessings and support of all the employees and valued customers who made the business successful.”
Ms. Shrivastava-Patel, President, added, “I would like to thank all of our employees who helped build our company over 37 years. Coming to the U.S. with only $100, my parents are the epitome of the American Dream. This was a very difficult process to go through, but having a team like Matrix made it much easier. They made sure that every detail was considered to ensure we were in the best possible situation. Our family is also thankful to our legal team led by Richard Few and his associates at Parker Poe for guiding us through the legal process.”
Mr. Saunders added, “This transaction is the culmination of multifaceted advisory work as we helped the Shrivastava family understand the value of their company, identified which assets to divest, analyzed after tax proceeds from a sale as well as the ongoing cash flows of the remaining assets, and executed a transaction that achieved their goals. The Shrivastavas have worked extremely hard for many years building an exceptional business, and we are honored to have had the opportunity to lead them through this process.”
Richard Few, Erika Byrd, Todd Haynie, and Tim St. Clair of Parker Poe served as legal counsel for Carolina Convenience.