Client: Wheels of CT, Inc. and Consumers Petroleum of Connecticut, Inc.
Location: Milford, CT
Industry: Fuel & Convenience Retail
Buyer/Investor: Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP)
Close Date: January 2022
Client: Wheels of CT, Inc. and Consumers Petroleum of Connecticut, Inc.
Location: Milford, CT
Industry: Fuel & Convenience Retail
Buyer/Investor: Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP)
Close Date: January 2022
Wheels of CT, Inc. (“Wheels,” or the “Company”) operated as a leading, full-service retail fuel and convenience company based in Milford, Connecticut. The Company traced its roots back to 1936, when Ernest A. Wiehl, Sr. founded Consumers Propane, Inc. in Fairfield, CT, engaging in propane and petroleum distribution and operating service stations in the Fairfield vicinity.
The Company changed its name to Consumers Petroleum when second generation owner Ernest Wiehl Jr. joined his father in the 1950s. Under his leadership, Consumers branched into a few other companies and trade names - including Gastop and Friendly Service - which primarily operated fuel service stations. Ernest Jr. also acquired the Secondi Brothers Truck Stop which included a full diner restaurant and diesel mechanic shop, which still boasts its famous “Secondi Bros” neon signage prominently displayed off I-95 Highway in Milford, CT. A few of the Company’s original locations – including Secondi – are still operational to this day as premium-quality Wheels fuel and convenience stores.
Richard Wiehl, representing the Company’s third generation, joined the family business in the late 1970s, and over the next two decades led the drive to upgrade outdated service stations to premium convenience stores. In the process, he helped transform the Company into one of the leading Citgo distributors and convenience retailers in its trade area. With the further help of President Christine Hogan, the Company continued expanding its footprint, growing the business to 27 retail locations throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties, all under the Wheels brand name. The Company also operated 22 wholesale dealer accounts in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
Carter Morse & Goodrich was engaged to perform a valuation of the Company and advise on a sale process. The shareholders ultimately decided to exit the retail fuel and convenience stores and wholesale dealer business to diversify family wealth and focus on other ventures.
CMG provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Wheels, which included valuation advisory, marketing of the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction.
Multiple competitive offers were received, and Global Partners was ultimately selected as the acquirer. Global, an $11 billion revenue NYSE-listed fuel marketing company, is one of the Northeast US’s largest independent owners, suppliers and operators of gasoline stations and convenience stores, tallying more than 1,600 total locations.
CMG assisted Wheels in the negotiation of the purchase agreement, coordinated due diligence, advised throughout a complex Federal Trade Commission inquiry regarding the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and managed the transaction’s closing process. The transaction with Global Partners LP closed in January 2022.
Matthew Susman and David Morosan of Cohen & Wolf, P.C. served as the Company’s primary legal advisors and Berkeley Research Group, a specialist in the Fuel and Retail Convenience industry, provided quality of earnings support.
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