L.E. Belcher Sells Retail Assets & Wholesale Businesses

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Leonard E. Belcher Inc. closed on the sale of all of its retail assets, and its branded and unbranded wholesale businesses to Petroleum Marketing Group Inc. (PMG). This sale marks L.E. Belcher's exit from the convenience and fuel retailing business.

The transaction included 13 company-operated convenience stores, one new-to-industry store that is slated to open in June, and one developmental property. The sale also included L.E. Belcher's branded contract dealer accounts and its unbranded wholesale business. 

The retail assets and branded and unbranded wholesale contracts are primarily located in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, according to Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc.

Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to L.E. Belcher, which included valuation advisory, marketing of the company through a customized, confidential, structured sale process, transaction structuring, and negotiation of the transaction.

Petroleum Capital and Real Estate LLC (PetroCapRE) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to PMG.

Springfield-based L.E. Belcher is an independent multi-branded marketer of petroleum products; it began operations in the late 1920s. Charles Hough purchased the business from Leonard Belcher in the early 1950s, and Edward Hough, president, purchased the company from his father in the 1990s.

According to Matrix, under Edward Hough's leadership and direction, and assisted by Vice President David Ryan, the company "continued the tradition of delivering quality products and exceptional customer service as they have grown both their retail and wholesale footprint into a multi-state, multi-branded petroleum distribution enterprise with a reach that has stretched as far south as New Jersey and Pennsylvania."

Earlier this year, Matrix advised L.E. Belcher on the sale of two pipeline-supplied distillate terminals, a distillate storage facility, and its commercial fuels business to Sprague Resources LP, as CSNews Online previously reported.

"As a legacy, family-owned marketer, it was very important that we partnered with a buyer of integrity and character for our employees, our customers and our supplier partners. Matrix was instrumental in achieving a successful sale on all fronts," said Edward Hough. 

Woodbridge, Va.-based PMG is a large Shell, Exxon, BP, Mobil, Sunoco, Gulf, Crown, and CITGO branded jobbership and a leading regional distributor of petroleum products and services in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States.

"We are excited that our firm could support PMG throughout this transaction process" said John C. Flippen Jr., managing director and principal of PetroCapRE. "This was a great opportunity for our client to expand its retail network, customer base and management team within PMG's growing New England geographic footprint. We are honored that PMG chose PetroCapRE to be their exclusive financial advisor for this transaction and enjoyed working with their entire senior management team to facilitate this acquisition."

James Sheils, David Webber and Timothy Mulhern of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin PC served as legal counsel for L.E. Belcher.