Pops Mart Fuels LLC has acquired Anderson Oil’s Convenience Stores, a chain of 14 convenience stores, with one under construction, and seven wholesale fuel dealer locations. The business headquarters and staff were maintained in Barnwell, S.C., as part of the transaction.
“The acquisition of Anderson Oil was a perfect fit geographically as their stores go from Columbia to the South and Pops Mart stretches from Columbia to the North. As part of the acquisition, Pops Mart not only added more Shell locations but added the Exxon and BP brands to its fuel offerings. Pops Mart, with a total of 39 operating convenience stores, plans to continue its growth through acquisitions,” said Pops Mart’s CEO Don Draughon.
Anderson Oil Co. Inc. was an outgrowth of a small town local general merchandise store operated for many years on the Main Street of Williston, S.C., which was started in 1897. In 1915 Anderson Mercantile Store was selling bulk kerosene and gasoline purchased from Esso in Charleston, S.C. In 1930 Anderson acquired the right to sell Shell Oil products and in 1941 became a Texaco fuel supplier. The company continued to grow the wholesale fuel business and filling station business through the 1960s and into the 1980s, when in 1981, Terrill Tuten was hired to manage the gas station side of the business and ultimately became a partner with Anderson Oil in 1989. In October of 2004, Tuten became the owner of Anderson Oil and began the growth of the company to its present operation of 14 company-operated stores, multiple dealers and wholesale fuel business.
Tuten said the experience of beginning his career with Anderson Oil as a manager and ultimately becoming the owner of such a prestigious oil company with deep roots in South Carolina was like a dream come true. The countless friends and acquaintances of so many people over the years has been a journey that only one could dream about. Going forward, he said he plans to spend more time fishing and enjoying the company of his wife and grandkids.
Terry Monroe, president of American Business Brokers & Advisors, provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Pops Mart LLC and Anderson Oil, which included advisory on valuation, negotiations and transactional closing.
Pops Mart Fuels is a Columbia, S.C.-based convenience store chain operating 24 locations branded Shell and 76. These stores are located in and around the Columbia, S.C.; Newberry, S.C.; and Winnsboro, S.C., markets.