Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc., a leading, independent investment bank, advised Sherman V. Allen, Inc. on the sale of its 13 “Mac’s Market” branded convenience retail stores and one commissioned agent site to Global Partners LP. The Company’s stores are located in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts and sell Citgo branded fuels. The Company will continue to operate its Mac’s Market grocery stores throughout Vermont, which are not part of the transaction.
Forty years ago, Sherman V. Allen, Jr. opened his first convenience store in Fair Haven, Vermont, near the New York border. The store was a success, providing for the needs of the average driver and truckers alike. Not long after, Mac, as he was known, purchased a local fuel company and started his own distribution business. Over the course of time, Mac purchased and established additional convenience stores and fuel companies, expanding his business into New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Not one to be satisfied with just one business, Mac also purchased a local hotel in Vermont, as well as several neighborhood grocery stores, and pursued a number of real estate development opportunities.
Mac’s daughter, Jennifer C. Allen, has worked for her father since she was old enough to hold a broom and over the last decade, she has managed both the convenience store and grocery store divisions of the Company. Several years ago, when Mac was taken ill and before he passed away, they both agreed that due to the challenges faced by most small convenience store operators, it would be best to sell the convenience stores, so that they could focus on the grocery store division and real estate development.
Allen commented, “We have enjoyed working in the convenience store business to service our local communities in Vermont, New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Our relationships in Vermont will continue under the Mac’s Market name, with our neighborhood grocery stores, and we are excited with the prospect of new real estate developments on the horizon. In the meantime, we are confident that Global Partners, a leading petroleum and convenience store operator throughout the Eastern U.S., will exceed our expectations in maximizing the opportunities available to them, using their expertise and abundant resources, in improving and expanding what my father started with nothing more than a 500 square foot store in Fair Haven, Vermont. My thanks and gratitude to our employees, who worked in one of the most challenging industries, and who put the needs of our community before their own, during the pandemic. Many thanks as well to the Matrix team, who worked with me and my staff, to achieve our goal in selling our family business to a well-respected company, like Global.”
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to SVA, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the sale. The transaction was managed by John Underwood, Managing Director; Andrew LoPresti, Vice President; and Matthew Paniccia, Analyst.
Underwood added, “We greatly appreciate the confidence that Allen placed in the Matrix team. The SVA team was great to work with, as they supported the sales effort while continuing to manage the day to day operations of both the convenience stores and grocery stores under very difficult conditions during the pandemic.”
Peter S. Erly and Catherine A. Burke of Gravel & Shea PC, and Diane McCarthy of Sheehy Furlong and Behm PC served as legal counsel for Sherman V. Allen, Inc.
