ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Lehigh Gas Partners LP's $11.1 million acquisition of certain wholesale motor fuel supply contracts from Manchester Marketing Inc. represents Manchester Marketing's exit from the wholesale fuels business.
As reported in a Raymond James/CSP Daily News Flash, Lehigh Gas picked up of 45 independent dealer supply contracts, five subjobber supply contracts and certain other assets. The sites supplied under the acquired contracts are located in the Richmond, Va., area. The acquired supply contracts are primarily for branded motor fuels, and the weighted average remaining term on the supply contracts is approximately nine years.
Richmond, Va.-based Manchester Marketing is the parent company of Seibert's Family of Cos., which includes Seibert's Wholesale Fuels, 'Berts Buck Stop convenience stores, Seibert's Towing and Seibert's Auto Auction.
Seibert's Wholesale Fuels is a distributor of branded motor fuels and petroleum products, servicing convenience stores and gas stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. It is a fuel jobber for the Sunoco, Shell, BP, CITGO, Exxon, Mobil and Crown brands.
"We assigned all of our wholesale fuels business to Lehigh Gas Partners. None remains," Randy Seibert president and CEO told CSP Daily News.
"In my market, there is a shrinking opportunity for mid-sized jobbers to remain successful for the long term. We are competing against large, multi-state jobbers with hundreds of dealers. Our dealers are competing with hypermarkets and large-format regional retail chains. There will continue to be more consolidation in the wholesale fuel distribution business, and we made the decision to exit now," he said. "Manchester Marketing will continue with its retail convenience store operations and its significant towing and associated businesses."
Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., Richmond, Va., provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Manchester Marketing, which included valuation advisory, potential buyer identification, transaction structuring, marketing, negotiating the definitive asset purchase agreement and navigating the closing process.
Lehigh Gas Partners, based in Allentown, Pa., is a leading 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 11 states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Maine, Tennessee and Virginia.
As of Sept. 30, 2013, Lehigh Gas distributed motor fuels to 765 sites: 212 sites operated by independent dealers, 287 sites owned or leased by Lehigh Gas and operated by Lehigh Gas Ohio LLC, 216 sites owned or leased by Lehigh Gas and operated by lessee dealers and 50 sites owned or leased by Lehigh Gas and leased to commission agents. In addition, it distributed motor fuels to 10 sub-wholesalers that distribute to additional sites.
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 United States and in the top 10 for many additional brands.
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