Wheels Acquired by Global Partners
Carter Morse & Goodrich (“CMG”) is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Wheels of CT, Inc. (“Wheels” or the “Company”) in its sale to Global Partners LP (“Global”). The transaction closed following Hart Scott Rodino regulatory approval. Terms of the transaction were not announced.
Tracing its roots back to 1936, Wheels is a third-generation family-owned company that operates 27 premium fuel and retail convenience store locations throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut and operates a wholesale distributor of branded petroleum products serving other gasoline retailers in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. The Company prides itself on developing and operating state-of-the-art facilities that better meet the needs of the consumer by offering clean, spacious floor plans and expanded fueling capacities, and providing a broader selection of fresh foods and merchandise. Wheels represents a true neighborhood convenience store, focusing on providing an unparalleled customer experience to its patrons.
Global (NYSE: GLP) is an $11 billion revenue publicly traded master limited partnership and 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. Global also owns, controls or has access to one of the largest fuel terminal networks in New England and New York, through which it distributes gasoline, distillates, residual oil and renewable fuels to wholesalers, retailers and commercial customers.
Christine Hogan, President of Wheels, said, “The Carter Morse & Goodrich team took the time to understand what made our business special in a competitive M&A marketplace. We worked collaboratively throughout the process, driving the transaction forward and achieving an extraordinary result for the Wiehl family. We could not have worked with a better M&A advisor to find an ideal home for our business. We are excited to see how Global will continue to grow and improve Wheels and feel that we are leaving the company in great hands for both our employees and customers.”
Global’s President and CEO Eric Slifka commented, “The purchase of Wheels is an excellent fit for Global and expands our retail business in Connecticut. The team at Wheels has built an impressive brand, with locations along high-traffic routes throughout Connecticut and we are excited about adding these facilities to our portfolio.”
Michael Carter, Managing Partner of CMG, said, “We congratulate Richard Wiehl on the successful Wheels closing and are honored that he entrusted our firm to manage this important once-in-a-lifetime transaction for his family. He should be proud of the business that his family built over three generations and we are thrilled that we could achieve a superior result for him. We also wanted to convey a special thank you to Christine Hogan and the Wheels management team for their knowledge and dedication in working through this complicated transaction.”
In conjunction with the sale, CMG is excited to announce the launch of its dedicated Fuel & Retail Convenience transaction advisory practice to help business owners in the Fuel& Retail Convenience sector navigate the complex M&A landscape. As part of the effort, CMG has partnered with top fuel and convenience retailing industry veterans, whose operating prowess and M&A experience from an owner’s perspective has proven to be a powerful complement to CMG’s 35-year history of providing M&A expertise to family and founder-led businesses.
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.
About Carter Morse & Goodrich
Located in Southport, CT, Carter Morse & Goodrich is a boutique M&A advisory firm that specializes in representing founder-led and family-held businesses valued between $25 million and $250 million.
CMG specializes in helping owners of leading companies in niche markets to plan, prepare, execute, and close successful transactions that maximize shareholder value. We fully understand and appreciate the unique dynamics of closely-held businesses and the importance of legacies. While CMG provides a full range of investment banking services our primary focus is representing sellers who are pursuing their once-in-a-lifetime M&A transactions.
For 35 years, the combination of our hands-on approach, senior banker attention, strategic guidance, seamless transaction execution and extensive network of domestic and international resources has enabled us to become a trusted advisor to hundreds of business owners.
For more information, visit us at www.cartermorse.com
CMG’s Broker/Dealer affiliate, Carter Capital Corporation, is a FINRA member firm registered with the SEC and SIPC.