Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. (“Matrix”), a leading, independent investment bank, announces that it has advised Martin Eagle Oil Company (“Martin Eagle” or the “Company”) on the sale of its municipal and commercial fuels businesses and transportation affiliate, Southwest Transport Co., to U.S. Venture, Inc. d/b/a U.S. Oil.  

Martin Eagle Oil Company is a leading petroleum marketer and fuels distributor based in Denton, Texas and serves customers primarily in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and north central Texas. The Company currently markets or supplies fuels to retail outlets, municipal/government (“municipal”) and commercial accounts. Southwest Transport Co. is a Martin Eagle affiliate that transports and distributes fuels to customers of Martin Eagle, as well as other third-party customers. U.S. Venture, Inc. is headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin and is a privately-held company recognized as an innovative leader in the distribution and marketing of energy, automotive and lubricant products throughout North America. 

Martin Eagle is a second-generation family business that was founded in 1963 by Cecil “Zeke” Martin, a former college and professional football standout, with a single Shamrock-branded store in Denton, Texas. The Company is currently led by Zeke Martin’s sons, Stephen “Steve” Martin, President of Operations, and Gary Martin, President of Real Estate. 

The business has grown to include the municipal and commercial fuels businesses, a retail business consisting of 19 owned retail sites, over 45 supplied sites, and Southwest Transport Co. 

Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Martin Eagle, 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; Stephen Lynch, Director; Robbie Radant, Director; and Kyle Tipping, Senior Analyst. 

Steve Martin commented, “It was not an easy decision for us to sell a part of Martin Eagle Oil that our family has built and run for over 60 years. We have had great relationships with our municipal and commercial customers over the years, and the Southwest Transport team has efficiently served and met all our customer delivery requirements. U.S. Venture will be a good fit for this business given their terminal located in Fort Worth and their overall investments in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Gary and I believe that U.S. Venture, also a family-owned company, will be a great place for our employees to continue their careers. I really appreciate all the efforts of the Matrix team in bringing this sale to fruition; they have worked tirelessly to market and complete the transaction.”

Mr. Underwood added, “We are grateful to have been chosen by Martin Eagle to implement the difficult decision of divesting their municipal, commercial and transportation businesses. We appreciated the opportunity to advise them on this transaction.”

Bryon Hammer and Elle Whitaker of Bourland, Wall & Wenzel, P.C. served as legal counsel for Martin Eagle. 

About Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Group 

Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Group is recognized as the national leader in providing transactional advisory services to companies in the downstream energy and multi-site retail sectors including convenience retailing, petroleum marketing & distribution, propane distribution, heating oil distribution, lubricants distribution, petroleum transportation & logistics, terminals and bulk plants, car washes, food service and specialty retail. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and acquisition transactions, debt and equity capital raises, corporate restructurings, corporate valuations, and strategic planning engagements. Since its inception in 1997, this dedicated group has successfully completed over 230 engagements in these sectors with a total transaction value of more than $11.5 billion.  

About Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. 

Founded in 1988, Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. is an independent, advisory focused, privately-held investment bank headquartered in Richmond, VA, with additional offices in Baltimore, MD and Chicago, IL. Matrix provides merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned, and publicly traded companies, including company sales, recapitalizations, corporate carve outs, corporate recovery, management buyouts, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate valuations, fairness opinions and business consulting. Matrix serves clients in a wide range of industries, including automotive, building products, business services, consumer products, convenience retail, downstream energy and industrial products. For additional information or to contact our team members, please visit www.matrixcmg.com.