Corner Capital Announces Capital Raise for Estepp Energy, LLC & Affiliates
For Immediate Release
Austin, TX
December 13, 2022
LEXINGTON, KY – Corner Capital Advisors, LLC (“Corner Capital”) announced today that it served as sole financial advisor on Estepp Energy, LLC’s, Estepp Friendly Shell, Inc.’s, and Estepp Land Paris, LLC’s (the three entities are collectively referred to as the “Company” or “Estepp & Affiliates”) debt refinancing, acquisition financing and growth capital raise.
Steve Estepp founded Estepp Energy, LLC and became a wholesale fuel distributor in 2012 with the acquisition of an existing Shell jobber, then set the business on a course for growth via acquisitions, new builds, the rapid expansion of the dealer wholesale/transportation business, and by developing a portfolio of franchise restaurants including Little Caesars, Subway, and Hot Head Burritos. Today, Estepp Energy & Affiliates operates more than 10 convenience retail 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 130 dealer and commercial customers throughout Central Kentucky.
Steve Estepp learned the business from the ground up: working the cash register, stocking coolers, pulling weeds, and all the other jobs “that make a convenience store go”. Prior to the founding of Estepp Energy, LLC, Steve Estepp’s father had operated convenience stores in the Lexington, Kentucky area since 1975.
Steve Estepp stated: “This capital raise was a key step in the second phase of a transformative two-pronged acquisition that began late last year. The debt financing sourced in this project will provide us with the flexibility to optimize our portfolio and enhance cash flows via the exercise of certain purchase options negotiated through our acquisition of Cumberland Lake Shell, consolidate/refinance our existing debt, and support our long-term growth objectives with a development line and new long-term lending relationships. Corner Capital was instrumental in underwriting, structuring, sourcing, and intermediating the capital raise—we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Corner Capital Advisors, LLC (“Corner Capital”) provided financing & capital advisory services to Estepp & Affiliates, which included valuation advisory, intensive financial modeling, the compilation/presentation of consolidated financial statements, along with capital sourcing, structuring and negotiation. The capital raise was managed by Rob Thomas, Sean Stewart, CFA and Barton Taylor. Rob Thomas of Corner Capital stated: “I’ve known Steve and his family for more than 20 years, since my time at Shell. Having the opportunity to assist and advise the Estepp family on their capital raise has been a true honor. They’ve built an incredible business and we are happy that they have secured the capital and lending relationships to support their long-term growth objectives.” Sean Stewart of Corner Capital added: “I thoroughly enjoyed working with Steve, Wes and other members of the Estepp team as we dived into the details of their fast-growing enterprise. They have an incredible story, starting from a Shell dealer with one location to almost 100 million gallons and growing. We appreciate Estepp’s trust in our advisory process for what will be a transformative opportunity for years to come.”
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
P. A. Weber III (Andy), Corner Capital, aweber@cornercapitalpartners.com
Rob Thomas, Corner Capital, rthomas@cornercapitaladvisors.com
Sean Stewart, CFA, Corner Capital sstewart@cornercapitaladvisors.com
Barton Taylor, Corner Capital, btaylor@cornercapitaladvisors.com
About Corner Capital
Formed in 2006, 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. For more information, please visit http://www.cornercapitalpartners.com/ or contact P. A. Weber III (Andy) at aweber@cornercapitalpartners.com, (805) 965-5510.