Matrix Advises Redwood Oil Company, Inc. on its Sale to Jacksons Food Stores, Inc
Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. has advised Redwood Oil Company, Inc. and its affiliates on the sale of its convenience retail assets to Jacksons Food Stores, Inc. Headquartered in Rohnert Park, California, Redwood is a leading convenience retailer that operates 24 high-performing convenience stores throughout Northern California that offer their exceptionally successful Aztec Grill proprietary food offering.
After beginning his career at Standard Oil, Peter Van Alyea founded Redwood Oil Company in the early 1970s when he opened his first gas station in Marin County, California. The initial store’s immediate success paved the way for Peter to add two more stores later that year. In 1979, Peter partnered with Barbieri & Son, a wholesale distributor, to acquire HR Gantner’s Beacon-branded stores and two Chevron jobberships, marking the beginning of the Company’s long-lasting relationship with Chevron. In 1997, Redwood launched Aztec Grill, an in-house, authentic Mexican food offering providing fresh made-to-order options for customers, which now operates within 17 of the stores. Peter’s partner retired in the early 2000s and the wholesale business was divested, leaving Redwood as a retail-focused chain. Julie Van Alyea, Peter’s daughter and Redwood’s current CEO, joined the Company in 2004 and spearheaded efforts to modernize the Redwood and Aztec brands, embrace new technology, and expand Redwood’s retail offerings to make the Company one of the West Coast’s most successful convenience retailers.
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Redwood, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the sale. The transaction was managed by Cedric Fortemps, CFA, Co-Head of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group; Andrew LoPresti, CFA, CPA, Director; and Michael Corliss, Analyst.
Julie Van Alyea, CEO of Redwood commented, “For 53 years, the dedication of our people has been the foundation of our success. As a family business, finding the right steward for the company we built was our top priority, and we are confident that Jacksons Food Stores will carry that legacy forward. We also want to thank the Matrix and Faegre teams for their invaluable support and guidance throughout this journey.”
Mr. Fortemps added, “Over its more than 50 year history, the Van Alyea family built an incredible convenience retail business with a very unique and successful prepared food program in Aztec Grill. We were honored to advise the family on the sale.”
Jeff Brown of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP served as legal counsel for the Company.
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About Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group
Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking 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 logistics, terminals, car washes and quick service restaurants. Group 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 valuations, special situations and strategic planning engagements. Since 1997, our Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group has successfully completed over 300 engagements.
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 an additional office in Baltimore, MD. Matrix provides merger & acquisition and financial advisory services for privately-held, private-equity owned, not-for-profit and publicly traded companies. Matrix’s advisory services include company sales, recapitalizations, capital raises of debt & equity, corporate carve outs, special situations, management buyouts, corporate valuations and fairness opinions.
The firm’s industry focused, dedicated sector advisory groups serve clients in the automotive aftermarket, downstream energy & convenience retail, healthcare and outdoor recreation & marine markets. Its broad sector advisory groups serve clients in a wide range of industries including business services, consumer, diversified industrials, restaurants and transportation & logistics. For additional information, visit www.matrixcmg.com.