Martin Eagle Oil exits c-store industry

U.S. petroleum marketer and fuels distributor Martin Eagle Oil Co. has sold its convenience retail and wholesale motor fuels businesses to an undisclosed buyer.

The assets consist of two company-operated c-stores, one unattended card lock, 16 commissioned agent-operated c-stores and one currently closed facility. The wholesale motor fuels assets consist of 40 dealer-owned supply accounts.

Martin Eagle Oil is a second-generation family business founded in 1963 by Cecil “Zeke” Martin, a former college and professional football player, with a single Shamrock-branded store in Denton, Texas. It now serves retail and wholesale customers primarily in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and north central Texas.

The company sold its municipal, government and commercial accounts and its Southwest Transport Co. affiliate to Appleton, Wis.-based U.S. Venture Inc. in April 2020.

“After selling the commercial, municipal and transportation businesses back in April, [we] reevaluated whether it made sense to continue in the retail business. After much consideration, we decided it was time to move on to other opportunities,” said Steve Martin, president of operations for Martin Eagle.

“It was not an easy decision for us to sell the retail and wholesale businesses our family spent 60 years building. We have had many great relationships with our retail and wholesale customers over the years, and we believe the buyer will be a great fit for our customers going forward.”

Investment bank Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., Richmond, Va., provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Martin Eagle, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured-sale process and negotiation of the sale.