Refuel Operating Co. LLC, a Charleston, South Carolina-based retail and wholesale fuel distribution and convenience store business, has entered into an agreement to acquire Double Quick Inc., a Mississippi-based retail fuel distribution and convenience store chain.
Refuel is a portfolio company of First Reserve, a global private equity investment firm exclusively focused on energy.
Double Quick was founded in 1983 by Tom Gresham and Bill McPherson and is based in Indianola, Mississippi. The company operates 48 conveniences stores in addition to being a Church’s Chicken and Krystal QSR franchisee across Western Mississippi and Eastern Arkansas.
“Tom and Bill have built a wonderful company and we are extremely excited to welcome their employees to the Refuel family,” said Refuel CEO Mark Jordan. “Double Quick has a strong brand and an established footprint that provides density as we enter the Mississippi and Arkansas markets. Double Quick excels in food service and has a reputation for first-class customer service, which we feel is highly complementary to the Refuel platform. We are excited to see what 2020 brings.”
Gresham, CEO and managing partner, and McPherson, managing partner, of Double Quick, stated, “While it was a bittersweet decision to sell Double Quick, we believe that Mark, Travis Smith and the greater Refuel team will be great long-term stewards of the Double Quick brand and legacy that we have instilled in the local communities throughout our markets.”
McPherson added, “Tom and I would like to especially thank our CFO Barry Schuster and Matrix Capital for their hard work and diligence in getting us to a signed purchase agreement, and we look forward to a successful closing of the transaction with Refuel.”
Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. is the exclusive financial advisor for Double Quick.
The transaction represents the fifth acquisition for Refuel since establishing the partnership with First Reserve in May 2019 and brings the total company operated store count to 83 stores. Refuel’s fourth acquisition was finalized last month when it acquired the Turtle Market assets in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which included two high volume convenience stores, one site currently under construction and one future development location that is set to begin construction in 2020.
Refuel’s current development pipeline consists of 12 new stores, many of which will be open prior to the end of 2020. Most of these stores are located in the Charleston, South Carolina, area including Mt. Pleasant, Point Hope, Nexton, Carnes Crossroads and Summerville, and Refuel is also expanding in the Myrtle Beach, Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head markets.
Operating five stores in early 2019, Refuel is on track to surpass the 100-store milestone by the end of 2020 with new builds and additional acquisitions in the pipeline.
Financial details of the transactions were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.
