TEMPLE, Texas — Fikes Wholesale Inc.’s CEFCO Convenience Stores is divesting 50 of its company-operated petroleum marketing and convenience stores in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama. BreakTime Corner Market LLC has acquired 48 of the CEFCO stores and Refuel Operating Co. LLC has acquired two of the stores in Mississippi.
CEFCO opened its first c-store in 1979. Through organic growth and acquisitions, the company has expanded to more than 250 locations across six states: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The divestment of these 50 locations enables CEFCO to enhance its capital allocation and focus investment in new stores and remodeling of existing stores, the company said.
“With plans to open 20 new stores this year, CEFCO will continue to build, open and operate stores that fit its vision of being a first-tier convenience-driven retailer with engaged employees who sell great food and provide great service in an exceptionally clean environment,” said Raymond Smith, president of Fikes Wholesale, Temple, Texas.
- CEFCO is No. 35 on CSP’s 2022 Top 40 Update to the 2021 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Watch for the full 2022 Top 202 ranking in the June issue of CSP magazine and in CSP Daily News.
In addition to the more than 200 petroleum marketing and convenience retail locations that the company will continue to operate, Fikes Wholesale owns and operates a wholesale fuels business, Fikes Fuels; a fuels transportation business, Group Petroleum Services Inc.; an ATM solutions provider, CORD Financial Services; and an ATM processor, Digital Network Solutions.
Founded in 2004, Houston-based BreakTime Corner Market owns and operates more than 100 gas stations and c-stores in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, California, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico and Maine.
Charleston, S.C.-based Refuel is an acquisition-focused retail and wholesale fuel distribution and c-store business with a “buy-and-build” strategy. It is No. 64 in CSP’s Top 202 ranking.
Independent investment bank Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., Richmond, Va., provided merger and acquisition advisory services to CEFCO, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. Spencer Cavalier, co-head of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group; John Underwood, managing director; Martin McElroy Jr., senior associate; and James Mickelinc, senior analyst, managed the transaction.
“Fikes is one of the best managed and disciplined convenience retailers in the U.S.,” Cavalier said. “We are honored to have worked with their executive management team to divest these stores in order for them to redeploy capital to continue growth in their target markets and preferred store prototypes.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.