7-Eleven Expands Florida Footprint With 101-Unit Acquisition

DALLAS — 7-Eleven Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary SEI Fuel Services Inc. (SEI Fuels) purchased 101 Florida gasoline station locations from Biscayne Petroleum LLC and Everglades Petroleum LLC.

The acquisition includes 94 controlled real estate locations, seven fuel-supply-only contracts and some related assets. The operations are located primarily in Miami, Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties, with a few sites in the city of Naples, Fla. 

The gas stations will continue to sell Mobil-branded fuel, and a number of these outlets are currently being considered for rebranding as 7-Eleven convenience stores, the Dallas-based retailer said.

SEI Fuels entered the wholesale fuel business during the fourth quarter of 2012 when 7-Eleven and SEI Fuels acquired the assets of TETCO Inc. and its affiliates, which ran a Texas-based fuel distribution and convenience retailing business.

Both Biscayne Petroleum and Everglades Petroleum were formed in 2011 for the purpose of acquiring convenience stores and gas stations that were being sold by ExxonMobil Corp. The combined company was led by Carlos Fontecilla and Arturo Zizold. Through those initial ExxonMobil acquisitions and several smaller ones over the years, the company achieved significant scale and market share within its markets.

Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Biscayne Petroleum and Everglades Petroleum, which included valuation advisory; marketing of the company through a customized, confidential, structured sale process; and negotiation of the transaction. The transaction was co-managed by Cedric Fortemps, managing director, and Thomas Kelso, managing director and head of the Downstream Energy & Retail Team. Matrix Director Vance Saunders and Senior Associate Stephen Lynch also advised on the transaction.

“...Having to sell our company was a difficult decision. Yet, Matrix’s advisory work from start to finish was outstanding. We are proud of all that has been accomplished with their support, and from our employees and our dealer partners. We also are pleased to have 7-Eleven and SEI Fuels assume ownership of our sites,” said Zizold, the company’s CEO. 

Fortemps commented: “We are honored to have advised Arturo and Carlos on this transaction. They have built a remarkable company in a very unique market and it was a pleasure working with them to achieve their goals and to ensure that its legacy, dealers and customers would be taken care of after their exit.”

Kelso added: “While these were excellent assets when they were acquired from Exxon, Arturo and Carlos did a tremendous job solidifying and improving the performance in a very short period of time, which significantly improved their value.”