J&S Oil Sells Company to Nouria Energy
WORCESTER, Mass. — Nouria Energy Corp. completed its acquisition of the assets of Manchester, Maine-based J&S Oil Inc. This includes eight Xpress Stop convenience stores with fuel, two Express Lube auto service stations, three car wash locations, a wholesale fuel supply division and a transport logistics business.
The completed transaction increases the number of Nouria locations in Maine to 31 and boosts Nouria's retail network to approximately 140 locations in total, spanning the distance from Sagamore, Mass., to Waterville, Maine, the company said.
J&S Oil was founded in 1972 by John F. Babb and his wife Sonja. The company got its start primarily in the retail and wholesale of petroleum products, according to its website.
"I want to welcome the dedicated employees of J&S to the Nouria organization. We have great respect for the successful business that the Babb family and their team built over the years and look forward to working with and learning from this experienced group," said Nouria Energy President and CEO Tony El-Nemr. "The J&S locations complement our existing Nouria operation in the great state of Maine because of their exceptional customer service, foodservice focus and thriving private label fuel and car wash businesses."
J&S offers a Café Xpress foodservice program at its Augusta and Farmingdale Xpress Stop stores, Amato's Italian food at its Lewiston location; and its own house-made pizza at stores in Manchester, Waterville and Topsham.
"Our family and our extended employee family have been serving the good folks of central Maine for over 44 years," said J&S Oil President Babb. "We very much look forward to blending our operations with the professional team of Nouria Energy and to being part of their growing portfolio of successful operations in New England."
The acquisition comes soon after Nouria Energy announced it is partnering with brand agency and retail consultancy CBX to create a unified brand identity and c-store concept for its network, as CSNews Online previously reported.
Citizens Bank restructured and expanded its existing loan relationship with Nouria to facilitate the purchase of J&S Oil. Previously, Citizens and Nouria completed a $32-million, five-year credit facility.
“The team at Citizens Bank was able to structure a facility that allowed us to efficiently close on this significant acquisition and maintain our liquidity as we focus on integrating these new locations into our network,” said El-Nemr. “We look forward to continuing our great relationship with Citizens as we grow toward our goal of a half-billion gallons and beyond.”