HOUSTON -- An investment fund managed by Houston-based Saracen Energy Advisors LP said that it has acquired FuelQuest Inc., a privately held provider of information technology, supply chain management and tax automation technologies to the downstream petroleum complex, fuel retailers, fuel suppliers, distributors, trading firms and large transportation companies.
The acquisition will provide Houston-based FuelQuest substantial additional capital support to continue to grow its existing fuel management and tax platforms. Furthermore, through its relationship [image-nocss] with Saracen, FuelQuest expects to extend its information technology and business relationships to meet increasing customer requests to become more fully integrated with bulk fuel supply markets.
FuelQuest will be a provider of systems and services required by those clients to support their growing shipping, storage, and trading operations. By combining FuelQuest's solutions with supply and trading services that are supported by Saracen's active involvement in the physical and derivative markets for fuel, both companies believe that FuelQuest will be uniquely positioned as the preferred fuel platform provider for its customers.
If you look at our customer base, they have discovered the value of both real-time product information and strategic procurement strategies in virtually all aspects of their core businesses other than in the complex fuel procurement arena, said Rich Cilento, president and CEO of FuelQuest.
The limitations to achieving competitive procurement advantages and buying power in fuel procurement relate to information management and a national supply capability across an extremely diverse geographic supply chain. We believe that the combination of our powerful information management tool and Saracen's knowledge and involvement in the mid-stream and primary physical fuel markets will allow us to create a national fuel supply platform to meet the expanding requirements of our customers, he added.
According to Saracen's CEO Neil Kelley, We are actively evaluating potential asset transactions that allow us to leverage our commercial capabilities. We view the FuelQuest transaction as an innovative way to accomplish this goal through a company whose business model is focused around information technology and customer relationships rather than physical assets.
Saracen's business activities include both physical commodity transactions and financial derivative trading in electric power, natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, coal, emissions and weather products as well as energy equity and debt instruments. The firm employs a fundamental-based, relative-value approach to identifying and exploiting pricing inefficiencies across time, quality, location and commodity classes in the energy complex.
FuelQuest provides on-demand, web-based supply chain management and tax automation technologies for suppliers, distributors, buyers, and traders of petroleum products and other energy commodities. Its solutions deliver operational and financial value to more than 750 customers. These customers include leading global oil companies, international retailers, shippers, and government entities. FuelQuest solutions help customers manage the complexity, regulation, and market volatility of billions of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel annually. ZyTax solutions process tens of billions of dollars of motor fuels excise taxes per year.
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