Convenience stores

Our Convenience Store team is dedicated to providing a full range of advisory services to retail operators, petroleum marketers and distributors located throughout the United States.

Case Studies

Worsley Companies

An affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. acquired the business of Worsley Operating Companies and various affiliated entities (collectively, "Worsley"). Worsley, based in Wilmington, N.C., operates 124 convenience stores in North and South Carolina under the Scotchman, Youngs’, and S–E names and sells premium fuel under several major petroleum brands including BP, Exxon, Shell, Mobil, and Sunoco as well as its proprietary brands Carolina Petro and Anytime Energy.

Susser Holdings Corporation

In November 2007, Susser Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SUSS) acquired the parent company of San Angelo, Texas-based Town & Country Food Stores. Town & Country is a privately owned company and a leading convenience store operator in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, with 140 locations serving Central and West Texas and the Texas Panhandle, and 28 locations serving Eastern New Mexico. Town & Country had total reported sales of $842 million and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $50 million during the 12 months ended Aug. 4, 2007. Town & Country owns approximately 80 percent of its stores, along with a land bank of 14 undeveloped locations for future development.

Corpus Christi, Texas-based Susser Holdings Corporation is a third generation family led business that operates 330 convenience stores in Texas and Oklahoma under the Stripes banner and supplies branded motor fuel to over 370 independent dealers through its wholesale fuel division.

Susser owns and operates over 150 Laredo Taco Company restaurants inside the Stripes convenience stores that feature authentic "made from scratch" Mexican food.

Scot Markets

In August 2007, Tri Star Energy, LLC acquired 57 Scot Markets stores. Scot Markets, operated by Consumers Gasoline Stations, Inc., generates approximately $188 million in annual revenues. Owned by James W. Perkins Jr. and family, its beginning dates back to the 1940’s in Nashville, Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky.

Tri Star Energy, LLC is a joint venture between Kimbro Oil Co., The Parman Group and Motiva Enterprises. As a result of the acquisition, Tri Star will operate 120 sites in Tennessee and Kentucky primarily under the ‘Daily’s’ brand name. Tri Star Energy also distributes fuel to an additional 120 independent retailers in Tennessee.

"We selected Morgan Keegan as our financial advisor because of their vast convenience store mergers and acquisition experience. In connection with our sale transaction, Morgan Keegan demonstrated their expertise and provided us with the end result that we expected. It was a real pleasure to work with a group of professionals with such depth of experience and integrity." — James W. Perkins, Jr., Former President and CEO of Consumers Gasoline Stations, Inc.

Spectrum Holding Inc.

In July 2006, Spectrum Holding, Inc., was acquired by Alimentation Couche-Tard, a leader in the North American convenience store industry. Morgan Keegan served as financial advisor to Spectrum, assisting the company in each stage of the transaction including identification of potential buyers, introduction, negotiation, structuring and closing.

Spectrum Holding, Inc., based in West Point, Georgia, was one of the leading convenience store operators in the Southeast. Spectrum entered the convenience retail business in 1965 and operated 90 locations under the highly recognizable Spectrum brand name.

Alimentation Couche-Tard is the second largest independent operator of convenience stores in North America. Couche-Tard, which operates primarily through its Circle K brand, has nearly 5,000 stores throughout Canada and in 23 states in the United States.

“We were very fortunate to have Morgan Keegan as our financial advisor during the Spectrum sale process. The deal team was focused and committed to achieving the goals we laid out for them. They demonstrated their experience and deep relationships in our industry and added significant value running an efficient and highly confidential process that maximized shareholder value. After building a relationship with Spectrum over many years, they stood ready to provide objective advice when the time was right for us." — Woody Woodroof, Former Chairman and CEO of Spectrum Holdings, Inc.

White Hen Pantry, Inc.

In August 2006, 7-Eleven, Inc. acquired White Hen Pantry, Inc., a portfolio company of Angelo, Gordon & Co. White Hen, based in Lombard, Illinois, is the franchisor of one of the premier convenience-oriented fresh food and beverage retail chains in the United States. Through its 206 stores in the Chicago area and 55 sub-licensed stores in New England, White Hen generates systemwide sales of approximately $290 million.

Angelo, Gordon & Co. is a New York-based investment firm. The company was founded in 1988 and currently manages approximately $10 billion in assets.

7 Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 30,000 stores in 18 countries and U.S. territories. During 2005, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of approximately $43 billion.

"The Morgan Keegan team worked hard to understand our business and then match the process with the market. I especially appreciate their team approach in completing every phase of the process, everyone involved was high caliber and completely engaged in our situation. We completed a successful sale of our company and Morgan Keegan was instrumental in bringing the right parties into the process and assuring that the end result met our shareholder's expectations." — Brandon Barnholt, Former Chairman and CEO of White Hen Pantry, Inc.

Representative Transactions