Wadsworth Oil Sells Company to Circle K

LAVAL, Quebec — Circle K Stores Inc. is picking up 10 convenience stores as part of its acquisition of Wadsworth Oil Co.

Wadsworth Oil was founded in Tuskegee, Ala., in the late 1920s as a Pan Am wholesaler. In 1977, the company purchased a small Amoco distributor in the city of Clanton, becoming Wadsworth Oil Co. of Clanton Inc. Today, it operates 10 c-stores throughout central Alabama under The Store banner.

Matrix Capital provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Wadsworth, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the purchase agreement.

The transaction was managed by Spencer Cavalier, co-head of Matrix Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking; Andrew LoPresti, vice president; and Nate Wah, senior analyst.

"I would like to thank Matrix for handling the sale of my business. They gave my company the same attention and quality of service that they would give to a 1,000-store chain. They communicated effectively with me and my leadership team and advised us in a timely and open manner," said Jim Wadsworth, president of Wadsworth Oil. "The sale process was a learning experience for us, but Matrix made it a smooth transition. Their expertise is second to none, and I give special thanks to Spencer Cavalier, Andrew LoPresti, and Nate Wah."

Roy Crawford and Herbert H. West of Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O'Neal LLP served as legal counsel for Wadsworth.

"Jim built one of the highest performing niche marketing chains that we have seen in the market," said Cavalier. "We greatly appreciate the opportunity to advise him and his talented management team, led by Terry Carroll, through this successful sale process."

Circle K is a subsidiary Canada-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, whose total network of 14,500 stores include 9,414 stores in North America; 2,710 stores in Europe, including Scandinavia, Baltics, Poland, Russia and Ireland; and licensing agreements for approximately 2,350 stores operated under the Circle K banner in 15 other countries and territories.