WALTERBORO, S.C. -- Exiting the petroleum and convenience store business, family-owned Rhodes Oil Co. Inc. has sold the company to SCV Oil LLC, PetroActive Real Estate Services LLC has announced. The deal included the company's four RhodesWay gas stations and convenience stores in South Carolina.
As reported in a 21st Century Smoke/CSP Daily News Flash, this transaction represents the first acquisition for newly formed SCV Oil, founded by brothers Daniel and Diego Rafael, as a strategic platform to expand its retail and commercial fuels distribution presence in key areas of the Southeast.
"Being totally new to the fuels distribution industry in the United States, we needed to acquire a company that would provide us with a complete turnkey operation, including systems and experienced personnel. Rhodes Oil really met our needs in this regard," said Daniel Rafael. "With the experienced Rhodes Oil team, we look forward to assessing new acquisition opportunities in the very near future."
Founded in 1945, Rhodes Oil is one of the oldest multi-generational marketers in South Carolina, focusing on both store operations and commercial fuels and lubricants distribution.
"The oil company was one of the defining elements of our family for so many years. After much deliberation and soul searching, we all agreed that the time was right to professionally sell the company and turn the page to a new chapter of our lives. My wife and I look forward to enjoying more time with our grandchildren, traveling, hiking, and extended stays at our mountain cabin," said Bob Smith, CEO of Rhodes Oil.
"While it is with mixed emotions that we make this change, we feel that the time is right and are most grateful to the customers that we serve and have served over the years," Smith said in a letter to customers obtained by Colleton Today. The company worked "to assure a smooth transition to the new owners."
He suggested that from an operational perspective, customers should see very little, if any, change, said the newspaper, and that the change of ownership would have no effect on the continued employment of Rhodes Oil workers.
Lawton Smith, who had served as Rhodes Oil president, joins SCV Oil as its general manager, said the report. His father retired as CEO when the company changed hands.
Lawton Smith said the RhodesWay retail stores, three in Walterboro and one in Hampton, S.C., will continue to operate under the same name. A decision on a possible name change for the retail businesses will be made in the coming months, he told the paper.
PetroActive Services provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Rhodes Oil, including business assessment and valuation, confidential marketing and buyer prospect negotiation. Mark Radosevich, the Coral Gables, Fla.-based company's president, managed the transaction.
Click here to read the full Colleton Today report.
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