Energy North Wins Bankrupt Clipper Mart
Energy North Inc. was named the top bidder in a bankruptcy auction of M.W. Sewall & Co.'s Clipper Mart convenience store chain, according to court documents.
The winning bid — $9.27 million, plus the value of the stores' inventory — topped a second place offer of $8.5 million by Framingham, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms Inc. Other qualified bidders included H.A. Mapes Inc., Mac's Convenience Stores LLC, TD Bank, Tedeschi Food Shops Inc. and MWC Acquisition Co. LLC.
While the court had yet to approve the auction results as of press time, Energy North would be the new owner of the 11 Clipper Mart stores, their inventories, wholesale accounts, a Boothbay apartment building and several residential properties.
M.W. Sewall filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2009. In October, the court appointed Mark Stickney as trustee to run the company while it reorganized, and in early February, Stickney fired company President Philip Sewall, who had taken over the post following Ned Sewall's departure.
Prior to the auction of the retail assets, an April 6 auction decided the future of M.W. Sewall's heating oil division, with Ned Sewall coming out the top bidder with a purchase proposal of nearly $4.76 million, which included $2.69 million in money and assets the company still owed him from a 2007 buyout. Ned Sewall's 2007 buyout consisted of $4.5 million in cash and stock, according to court documents.
The winning bid — $9.27 million, plus the value of the stores' inventory — topped a second place offer of $8.5 million by Framingham, Mass.-based Cumberland Farms Inc. Other qualified bidders included H.A. Mapes Inc., Mac's Convenience Stores LLC, TD Bank, Tedeschi Food Shops Inc. and MWC Acquisition Co. LLC.
While the court had yet to approve the auction results as of press time, Energy North would be the new owner of the 11 Clipper Mart stores, their inventories, wholesale accounts, a Boothbay apartment building and several residential properties.
M.W. Sewall filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2009. In October, the court appointed Mark Stickney as trustee to run the company while it reorganized, and in early February, Stickney fired company President Philip Sewall, who had taken over the post following Ned Sewall's departure.
Prior to the auction of the retail assets, an April 6 auction decided the future of M.W. Sewall's heating oil division, with Ned Sewall coming out the top bidder with a purchase proposal of nearly $4.76 million, which included $2.69 million in money and assets the company still owed him from a 2007 buyout. Ned Sewall's 2007 buyout consisted of $4.5 million in cash and stock, according to court documents.