Atlantic Coast Enterprises purchases F.L. Roberts’ Jiffy Lube business.
F.L. Roberts and Co. Inc. has sold its convenience store, car wash and Jiffy Lube businesses, with assistance from Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc.
Affiliated companies of Nouria Energy Corp. purchased the convenience store and car wash businesses, and the Jiffy Lube business was acquired by Atlantic Coast Enterprises LLC.
F.L. Roberts, headquartered in Springfield, Mass., owned and operated a chain of 26 convenience stores and retail fuel outlets, 22 Golden Nozzle car washes, and nine Jiffy Lube quick lube facilities in the greater Springfield, Mass. and Hartford, Conn. markets as well as northern and western Massachusetts. The company also operates a wholesale motor fuels distribution business and a fuels transportation business in these markets, and these divisions have been retained by the company with the intent to sell them to Frank Roberts prior to the end of the year.
This acquisition adds further scale to Nouria’s network and expands its geographic footprint into the important western Massachusetts and Connecticut markets. The transaction brings the number of Nouria locations that it operates in Massachusetts to nearly 100 locations and a network of about 225 locations spanning from Hartford, Connecticut to Waterville, Maine. Furthermore, this acquisition expands Nouria’s footprint as a car wash operator to 49 locations.
“The nearly century-old Roberts family business has established tremendous convenience store and car wash brands and created a family culture with generations of loyal employees. At this time, I want to welcome them to the Nouria organization” said Tony El-Nemr, president and CEO of Nouria Energy Corp. “The acquisition of F.L. Roberts comes at a time when Nouria is solidly positioned for substantial growth” said El-Nemr. “The acquisition enhances our business profile with added revenue diversification and profit streams backed by strong c-store operations and an industry best car wash network,” he added.
F.L Roberts was founded in 1920 by Frank L. Roberts (“F.L.”) with a single automotive and tire store in Springfield, Mass. In the early years, the company grew its chain of service stations and established and expanded a fuel oil and motor oil business. In the early 1970’s, the company sold the fuel oil division in order to focus on growing the gas station portfolio, and in the later 1970’s, the company began to concentrate on new businesses that would complement the gas stations – a chain of Golden Nozzle car washes, a chain of Jiffy Lube quick lube facilities, a diner, and even a small hotel and discount tobacco shop. Through the leadership of four generations of the Roberts family, the company grew into a large, diversified business with highly recognizable brands, a loyal customer base, and an industry-leading rewards program.
The company is family-owned and managed by F.L.’s grandson, Steven Roberts – President, Steven’s nephew, Frank Roberts – Managing Director & VP Wholesale/Commercial Sales, Steven Sanchioni – CFO, and Richard Smith – VP of Operations.
The assets divested by the company are comprised of high volume locations and were predominately fee owned properties. The convenience stores sell Sunoco, Valero, and F.L. Roberts branded fuels, and the Golden Nozzle facilities wash over 2.5 million cars per year. The Jiffy Lube facilities consistently lead the entire Jiffy Lube national system in revenue per store. The company’s wholesale business has grown dramatically over the last few years, and Frank Roberts, who manages the wholesale fuels and fuels transportation businesses, plans to continue to grow these businesses after acquiring them from the company later this year.
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to the company, which included valuation advisory, marketing of the various divisions of the Company through customized, confidential, structured sale processes, and negotiation of the transactions.
