Energy. Capital. Advisory.

Corner Capital provides transactional advisory services to all constituents in the Downstream Energy, Retail, Business Services, and Distribution industries. Our national market coverage serves clients with staff in Texas, California, and Florida.

Annual Report & Market Outlook

This past year seemed to be a tipping point in our industry in many ways. Regulatory and economic headwinds hit us “full-on”, yet what is wonderful about our industry is that marketers and retailers did not miss a beat.

Recent Transactions

Service Type: Financing & Capital Advisory Services

Client: Estepp Energy, LLC, Estepp Friendly Shell, Inc., and Estepp Land Paris, LLC (the three entities are collectively referred to as the “Company” or “Estepp & Affiliates”).

Client Description: Founded in 2012, the Company operates more than 10 locations, operates bulk plant facilities, leases numerous locations to branded dealer operators, and will distribute more than 80 million gallons of Shell, Marathon, Sunoco, BP, 76, and unbranded petroleum products to over 180 dealer and commercial customers throughout Central Kentucky.

The Trigger:

  • The Client had recently purchased the dealer fuel supply, bulk plant/commercial fuels, and retail operations of a local competitor (Cumberland Lake Shell), significantly increasing the size and scale of the Company’s operations.
  • As part of this transaction, the Company negotiated purchase options on the underlying real estate for the store operations purchased in the Cumberland Lake Shell transaction. One of the main goals of this capital raise was to secure acquisition financing to exercise these purchase options.
  • Additionally, Estepp’s growth trajectory had surpassed their local bank’s ability to provide flexible and attractively priced debt capital. In short, the Company’s rapid growth required a larger commercial banking relationship with an institution that understood their business, could loan on cash flows/total enterprise value, and offered quick, flexible access to capital via a development line.

The Project:

  • Corner Capital was tasked with sourcing, structuring, and negotiating the following debt facilities:
  • Senior term debt to refinance substantially all of the Company’s existing debt, and finance the exercise of certain purchase options negotiated through Estepp’s acquisition of Cumberland Lake Shell.
  • Revolving credit facility for working capital needs, secured by inventory and receivables.
  • Development line of credit for new builds on existing properties, securing new real property for NTI builds, and smaller bolt-on acquisitions.

The Solution:

  • As Estepp had recently undergone a transformative acquisition, and was in the process of implementing PDI, Corner Capital performed intensive underwriting and financial modeling (using several legacy sources) to present the Company’s financials and cash flows on a consolidated basis.
  • Corner Capital analyzed collateral/cash flow from all the Company’s business segments to develop and propose a financing solution that accomplished Estepp’s goals.

The Result:

  • Corner Capital successfully marketed and executed the proposed financing solution, presenting the Client with multiple competitive proposals, increased financing flexibility, and a new banking relationship with a large institutional lender.
  • Estepp was able to refinance its existing debt, finance the exercise of certain purchase options negotiated through the acquisition of Cumberland Lake Shell, secure a revolving credit line for working capital needs, and negotiate a development line of credit to support future growth.
  • The Company closed on this transformative debt capital raise on December 13th, 2022.

Service Type: Valuation Services, M&A

Client:  Morgan Oil Company, Inc. (“Morgan Oil”, or the “Company”)

Client Description: Founded in 1935, Morgan Oil is a third-generation branded petroleum marketer, convenience retailer, and commercial fuels distributor headquartered in Nacogdoches, TX.

The Trigger:

  • The Client sought retirement from the industry after having grown the business organically over the course of 87 years.

The Project:

  • Corner Capital performed a Fair Market Valuation for Morgan Oil and outlined strategic options. The Company decided to pursue a structured sale process through Corner Capital.
  • Corner Capital sourced proposals from each of the potential buyers that it engaged under a non-disclosure agreement and sharing of the marketing material in Corner Capital’s Confidential Information Memorandum & data room. Through two rounds of extensively negotiating the most competitive Letters of Intent, Majors Management, LLC was selected as the winning bidder to acquire Morgan Oil in Corner Capital’s structured sale of the Client’s business assets.

The Solution:

  • Corner Capital worked closely with Morgan Oil from valuation, sourcing & negotiating LOIs, contractual negotiations, diligence, to closing.

The Result:

  • The Client’s operations and business assets were successfully marketed and sold to Majors Management, LLC, which closed on November 4, 2022.

Service Type: Valuation Services, M&A

Client: Royce Groff Oil Company d/b/a Valley Mart

Client Description: Founded in 1969, Royce Groff Oil Company d/b/a Valley Mart is a branded petroleum marketer and convenience retailer serving consumer and commercial customers in Medina County, Texas

The Trigger:

  • Client sought retirement from the industry after having grown the business organically over the course of over 50 years, but wanted to retain long-term cash flow from ownership of the real estate underlying the business assets.

The Project:

  • Corner Capital performed a Fair Market Valuation for Royce Groff Oil Company and outlined strategic options. The Company decided to pursue a structured sale process through Corner Capital.
  • Corner Capital sourced proposals from each of the potential buyers that it engaged under a non-disclosure agreement and sharing of the marketing material in Corner Capital’s Information Memorandum and data room. Through two rounds of extensively negotiating the most competitive Letters of Intent, Texas Enterprises, Inc. Was selected as the winning bidder to acquire Royce Groff Oil Company in Corner Capital’s structured sale of the Client’s business assets.

The Solution:

  • Corner Capital worked closely with Royce Groff Oil Company from valuation, sourcing and negotiating LOIs, contractual negotiations, diligence, to closing.

The Result:

  • The Client’s operations and business assets were successfully marketed and sold to Texas Enterprises, Inc., which closed April 1, 2022.
  • Corner Capital structured Net Leases for the real estate properties underlying the convenience retail and bulk plant assets, providing long-term income for members of the Client’s family.

Client Testimonials

“On several occasions, we were approached with different opportunities to exit the industry. Before giving any real consideration to any of those options, my family engaged Corner Capital to provide a Fair Market Valuation for our business. As a result, we furthered our engagement to allow Corner Capital to manage the structured process for our exit strategy. Their knowledge, industry experience, and personal touch provided Lois and me the comfort needed to successfully close our transaction with Sunoco. Without a doubt, a wise decision on our part to bring the Corner Capital team into our process.”
-Jim Kolkhorst, Kolkhorst Petroleum & Rattlers Convenience Stores, Texas

“Corner Capital led us through a strategic analysis of our branded dealer business, interfacing with our Board throughout. When the Board determined to exit that segment, Corner Capital expeditiously executed our structured sale process and outperformed our value expectations.”
-Ken McPherson, The McPherson Companies, Alabama

“Andy Weber and his team at Corner Capital have done exceptional work supporting transactional, valuation, and various proprietary initiatives at our companies. Andy’s extensive industry experience, technical competence, and practical "real world" approach is a valued resource to our organization. The Corner Capital team consistently delivers-----and always in a most timely and impactful manner.”
-M.J. Castelo, Managing Member & President – Andretti Petroleum LLC / Peninsula Petroleum LLC / Humboldt Petroleum Inc.

“Corner Capital successfully negotiated and facilitated my refi project and helped me find additional capital to support my ongoing growth plans. They managed all aspects of the project very well and I would not hesitate to use them again or to recommend them to other marketers.”
-Carlos Garza, La Lomita

“Lard Oil recently engaged Corner Capital Advisors on two projects, first to assist in an acquisition opportunity and the other to manage the process to refinance our Sr. term and revolver facilities. The CCA team brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise and did so under our strict timelines and expectations. I have no reservations about recommending their firm and intend to engage with them as other opportunities present themselves.”
-Johnny Milazzo, President and CEO – Lard Oil Co., Denham Springs, LA

“Corner Capital demonstrated patience and persistence in our negotiations over a year’s time, solving a complex structuring project. The end result was a tremendous amount of value and a great long-term relationship.”
-Rene Anabi, Anabi Holdings North Master, LLC