Petroleum Marketing Group Picks Up Virginia Retail Assets
STONY CREEK, Va. — Two convenience stores, two travel centers and several quick-service restaurants in Virginia have changed hands.
An affiliate of Petroleum Marketing Group Inc. (PMG) purchased the assets of Melvin L. Davis Oil Co. Inc. dba Davis Travel Centers. As part of the transaction, Davis and PMG have entered into a transition services agreement, according to Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc.
Matrix advised Davis on the transaction.
The sale include two full-service travel centers along I-95 and I-85 in South Central Virginia. The sites are part of the AMBEST network of independent truck stops.
In addition to the travel centers, the transaction also comprised two large-format convenience stores under the Davis Express store brand and numerous branded quick-service restaurants, which include Wendy's, Popeyes, Little Caesars, Subway, Starbucks, and Dunkin' Donuts.
The travel centers and convenience stores offer Exxon or Mobil branded fuels and the two travel centers also sell unbranded diesel fuels at their high-speed diesel islands.
Stony Creek-based Davis was founded in 1956 when Irvin Davis Sr. and his son Melvin Davis began operating a single restaurant and gasoline filling station in Stony Creek. The company branched out into the convenience channel in the 1980s, eventually growing its network to 14 c-stores.
Melvin Davis Jr. and J. Rex Davis, who represent the third generation of the Davis family, have been leading the company.
"Throughout the entire process, the Matrix team provided excellent guidance and advice. Their determined, yet flexible approach and proven methodology allowed for the best outcome for all parties. Simply put, we could not have achieved this without them," Rex Davis said.
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Davis, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process and negotiation of the transaction.
The transaction was managed by Cedric Fortemps, co-head of Matrix's Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group; Stephen Lynch, director; John Mickelinc, associate; and Alex Harper, analyst.
"We very much appreciate the trust that Mel and Rex placed in us to advise them on the sale of the incredible business they've worked so hard to build. These facilities and operations are best-in-class, which is how they have developed such a large and loyal commercial driver and passenger vehicle customer base from travelers along the I-95 and I-85 corridors in southern Virginia," Fortemps said.
Stephen Burke, and Beth Hungate-Noland, from Williams Mullen served as legal counsel for Melvin L. Davis Oil Co.
Falls Church-based PMG is a leading jobber and distributor of petroleum products, and an operator of convenience stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The company services more than 1,000 locations, from Maine to Florida.
The deal between PMG and Davis is just the latest among small operators in the convenience store industry this year.