Quality Oil Acquires GOGAS Stores, Brand

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Merger and acquisition activity continues to roll on, this time with Quality Oil Co. buying the assets of GOGAS Corp.

Prior to the sale, Wilmington-based GOGAS directly operated 20 high-volume retail motor fuel outlets in southeastern North Carolina, with total annual fuel volume of more than 53 million gallons. Of the sites, 19 were owned fee-simple with the remaining site leased from a third party.

As part of the transaction, Quality Oil has also acquired the GOGAS brand. All of the company's eligible store employees and field staff were retained by Quality Oil.

According to Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., the GOGAS portfolio consists of large, well-maintained fueling facilities with modern equipment designed to maximize fuel traffic. Each site features a kiosk-style building for accepting fuel payments and selling top-tier cigarettes at the lowest prices in their markets. 

GOGAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of K. E. Austin Corp., a private company founded by Kit and Deborah Austin in 1976. Kit Austin, the company's president, continued to manage the day-to-day operations until the closing of the transaction. The sale represents a complete exit for him from the motor fuel business.

"We are fortunate to have found a buyer that is based in North Carolina and matches GOGAS' culture of customer service, employee relations and vendor relationships. This will make for a seamless transition," said Kit Austin. "We are very grateful for the wonderful loyal customer support that GOGAS has received over the last 39 years."

Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to GOGAS. The transaction was co-managed by Cedric Fortemps, managing director, and Vance Saunders, director. Analyst Kyle Profilet also advised on the transaction.

"It was a pleasure advising [Austin] on a successful sale of the tremendous business that he and his management team have built. We're extremely pleased to have found a buyer in Quality Oil that was eager to add the company's strong employee base and unique format of stores to their growing portfolio," Fortemps said.

W. Berry Trice of Murchison, Taylor & Gibson PLLC served as legal counsel for GOGAS.

Based in Winston-Salem, Quality Oil is a large, diversified petroleum marketer and fuels distributor with operations throughout the southeast United States, from Virginia to Florida. Its brands include Quality Mart convenience stores and Quality Plus gas stations and discounted cigarette shops.