Latest purchase adds Mississippi and Arkansas locations, will help fast-growing Refuel reach 100-store threshold by end of 2020.
Refuel Operating Co., LLC, a Charleston, S.C.-based retail and wholesale fuel distribution and convenience store business, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mississippi-based retail fuel distribution and convenience store chain Double Quick, Inc.
Indianola, Miss.-based Double Quick was founded in 1983 by current Managing Partners Tom Gresham and Bill McPherson. The company operates 48 convenience 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,” Refuel CEO Mark Jordan said. “Double Quick has a strong brand and an established footprint that provides density as we enter the Mississippi and Arkansas markets.”
Jordan cited Double Quick’s food service and reputation for first-class customer service as being highly complementary to the Refuel platform.
“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,” Gresham, who is also CEO, and McPherson said in a company statement.
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 adviser for Double Quick. Refuel is a portfolio company of First Reserve, a leading global private equity investment firm exclusively focused on energy.
The transaction represents the fifth acquisition for Refuel since establishing its partnership with First Reserve in May 2019, and brings the total company operated store count to 83 stores.
Refuel’s previous acquisition was finalised last month when it acquired the Turtle Market assets in Myrtle Beach, S.C., which included two high volume convenience stores, one site currently under construction and a 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 area, including Mt. Pleasant, Point Hope, Nexton, Carnes Crossroads and Summerville. 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.
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