Mystic Oil Sells to Petroleum Marketing Group

MYSTIC, Conn. — Petroleum Marketing Group Inc. (PMG) entered into an agreement to purchase Mystic Oil Co. Inc. and its affiliates. 

This is the third major acquisition by PMG over the last year. In April, it purchased 43 petroleum marketing and convenience retail stores from Li'l Thrift Food Marts Inc., and in November 2022, it took over the convenience store business of Holt Oil Co., precipitating Holt's exit from the channel.

Mystic Oil sells fuels on a consignment and wholesale basis to approximately 150 Gulf, CITGO, ExxonMobil, Shell and unbranded customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Vermont. 

The company was founded in 1956 by Aaron Agrin and is a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated business with deep roots in the Mystic area. During its first few decades, Mystic Oil expanded its fuels offerings by becoming a distributor of fuels brands such as ExxonMobil and Gulf while also developing a chain of company operated convenience stores. 

In 2008, Mystic Oil divested its company operated c-store business and transitioned its focus to the wholesale fuels business. Peter Zelken became president of Mystic Oil in 2017 and acquired the company from his father, Scott Zelken, that same year. Since that time, Mystic has grown to become one of the leading fuels distributors in New England, according to the company.

As part of the sale, Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Mystic Oil, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the sale. The transaction was managed by Cedric Fortemps, co-head of Matrix's downstream energy and convenience retail investment banking group, and Michael Tucker, associate.

"Matrix demonstrated an extraordinary understanding of the downstream petroleum business. They were patient, diplomatic, intelligent and trustworthy," said Peter Zelken. "It's not easy handing the keys to a multigenerational family business to just anyone. My sincere thanks to Cedric Fortemps and Mike Tucker on a job well executed from start to finish."

[Read more: Olin Oil Exits Convenience Store Business]

Otto Konrad and Kaitlin Cottle of Williams Mullen provided legal counsel to Mystic Oil on the transaction.