Deal includes independent dealer and subjobber supply contracts from Manchester Marketing in Virginia.
Lehigh Gas Partners LP has completed the acquisition of certain wholesale motor fuel supply contracts from Manchester Marketing Inc. for a total consideration of $11.1 million, according to Reuters.
The acquisition consisted of 45 independent dealer supply contracts, five subjobber supply contracts and certain other assets.
The acquired supply contracts are primarily for branded motor fuels and the weighted average remaining term on the supply contracts is approximately nine years. The sites supplied under the acquired contracts are located in the Richmond, Va. area.
Lehigh Gas Partners, headquartered in Allentown, Pa., is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels and owner and lessee of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels. Formed in 2012, Lehigh Gas Partners owns or leases more than 500 sites in eleven states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Maine, Tennessee, and Virginia. The company is affiliated with several major oil brands, including ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, Sunoco and Valero. LGP ranks as one of ExxonMobil’s largest distributors by fuel volume in the U.S. and in the top 10 for many additional brands.
Manchester is part of the Seibert’s Family of Companies (“Seibert’s”), a second-generation, family-owned business that was founded in 1976 by John Seibert and entered the convenience store and fuels distribution business in the 1980’s.
Seibert’s is involved in various businesses including motor fuels distribution, convenience store operations, towing and roadside assistance, and the wholesaling and auctioning of used automobiles.
Manchester expanded their wholesale fuels and convenience store business under the direction of current president Randy Seibert. The wholesale fuels distribution business includes a portfolio of 51 customers. Subsequent to the closing of the transaction, Manchester will remain in the convenience store business with three Bert’s Buck Stop convenience stores.
Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Manchester, which included valuation advisory, potential buyer identification, transaction structuring, marketing, negotiating the definitive asset purchase agreement, and navigating the closing process.
“We made a strategic decision to divest this portion of our business based on certain trends occurring within our industry and our position within it,” said Randy Seibert, president and CEO of Manchester. “Matrix brought very good counsel and a highly disciplined process to the execution of our decision. Their efforts helped us transition smoothly and we are very pleased by the outcome.”
The transaction was led and managed by Cedric Fortemps, a managing director in Matrix’s Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group (“EMR Group”). “We are extremely excited to have been able to advise the Seiberts, who we have had a close working relationship with for years, to successfully divest of this division,” he said.
Vance Saunders, vice president with the EMR Group, who co-managed the transaction added, “We were delighted that we were able to help the Seiberts maximize value for all of their years of hard work building and developing this top-notch business.” Thomas Kelso, managing director and head of Matrix’s EMR Group and Stephen Lynch, associate, also advised on the transaction.
David Clarke of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellot LLC served as legal counsel to Manchester on the transaction.