Bagwell Oil Completely Exits the Fuels Industry

ONANCOCK, Va. – Seven years after selling its retail convenience store business, Bagwell Oil Co. Inc. is now completely exiting the fuels industry with the sale of its home heating and commercial fuels business. Georgetown, Del.-based Pep-Up Inc., operator of convenience stores along the eastern shore of Maryland and in Delaware, is acquiring the assets.

Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., which provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Bagwell Oil, announced the sale today.

Bagwell Oil and its affiliated companies have been engaged in multiple downstream fuel businesses, including convenience stores and fuel retailing, for more than 95 years. In 2006, Matrix sold the company's retail convenience store business. When Bagwell Oil recently decided to exit its home heating and commercial fuels business, the company again engaged Matrix to complete the transaction.

The sale of these remaining assets marks Bagwell Oil's formal exit from the fuels industry, according to Matrix.

"We are very happy that all of our employees will remain with Pep-Up, including General Manager Marty Kemp, and we expect a smooth transition for all of our customers,” said William Bagwell IV, president of Onancock, Va.-based Bagwell Oil.

Matrix provided Bagwell Oil with valuation advisory, transaction structuring, marketing and assistance in the negotiation of the purchase agreement. The transaction was managed by Spencer Cavalier, director at Matrix, who was assisted by Sean Dooley, associate, and Andrew LoPresti, senior analyst. Bert Turner of Turner and Turner served as legal counsel for the seller.

"We have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Mr. Bagwell, and we were honored to have been selected again to assist him in exiting his business," commented Tom Kelso, managing director and head of the Matrix Energy and Multi-Site Retail Team.

According it its website, Pep-Up is a locally owned and family-run business with 13 c-store locations in Maryland and Delaware. The company also provides top-grade petroleum products, including diesel fuel, fuel oil, kerosene, gasoline and propane, as well as a full line of lubricants. In addition, Pep-Up offers restaurants, 24-hour fleet fueling, tank and pump sales, budget programs, fuel security programs and automatic delivery. The company services and installs furnaces, burners, water heaters, appliances, fireplaces and air conditioning units as well.