McALLEN, Texas – For an unexpectedly high price, Sunoco LP's Susser Petroleum Property Co. LLC was the lead bidder and the expected buyer of 28 Quick Stop convenience stores in southern Texas in the bankruptcy auction of Aziz Convenience Stores LLC.
Following unstable sales due to the economic downturn, Aziz, the debtor and debtor-in-possession, filed for a voluntary petition for relief and a motion for an auction under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division, on Aug. 4, 2014.
The company explored opportunities to emerge from bankruptcy that included not only the sale of the company's convenience stores, but also transactions such as the sale-leaseback of the stores, recapitalization, refinancing, joint-venture partnership and more.
The sale was the option once the alternatives were exhausted, a spokesperson for Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC, New York, which helped Aziz with the process, said.
Susser Petroleum Property was the stalking-horse bidder, and Keen-Summit accepted bids with the minimum set at $29.6 million. The deal included a breakup fee of $840,000.
The convenience-store sites range in size from 2,200 to 10,400 square feet and the properties vary from 0.49 to 4.10 acres, according to Keen-Summit.
The final sale price was $41.6 million, according to court documents, considerably higher than the minimum allowable bid.
Among the other bidders was Circle K Stores Inc., which submitted the next highest offer with a bid of $41.5 million and is, therefore, the “backup bidder” for the assets, the court documents said.
As reported in a 21st Century Smoke/CSP Daily News Flash, the court will announce the approval of the successful bid at a hearing on July 28.
Established in 1983, Aziz is a privately owned and operated, independently branded chain of 28 convenience stores and gas stations based in McAllen, Texas.
Susser Petroleum Property is part of Houston-based Sunoco LP following the acquisition of Susser by Sunoco's parent, Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP), Dallas.
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