Maxum Petroleum, Inc., a leading energy
logistics company announced on Friday the
acquisition of Mid-State Industrial
Lubricants Co. Founded in 1971 by the Shelton
family and based in Summersville, WV,
Mid-State is a leading supplier of industrial
lubricants and fuels to commercial and
industrial customers in Central Appalachia.
Mid-State Industrial Lubricants is one of
Citgo's leading distributors of lubricants in
the US
market. Although the company services all
market segments, it is considered particular
strong in coal mining and natural gas
applications.
The acquisition of Mid-State expands Maxum's
existing operations in Central Appalachia and
broadens its product portfolio with a
well-respected distributor. It's important to
note, that even prior to this acquisition,
Maxum already enjoyed a leading
presence in Central Appalachia through its
Petroleum Products, Inc. subsidiary.
Petroleum Products operates five bulk plant
in West Virginia, Virginia, and
Pennsylvania. In addition, the company's
corporate office is in Belle,
West Virginia, and it has a warehouse in
Nitro, West
Virginia. Petroleum Products
Inc. distributes lubricants for Chevron,
ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips.
JobbersWorld is told, the employees of
Mid-State, including its President and
majority owner Ed Shelton, will continue in
their current roles as part of the expanded
Maxum organization.
Whereas Maxum Petroleum completed 12
acquisitions of fuel and lubricant marketers
from 2004 to
2007, there were none in 2008, and the first
half of 2009. The acquisition of Mid-States
is the first deal done by Maxum in the past
18 months. And Maxum tells JobbersWorld, the
company is now actively looking for new
opportunities and is various stages of
discussions with fuel and lubricant
marketers. In JobbersWorld's view, this is an
important point to consider since many deals
were put on ice since the start of the
recession. And Maxum's acquisition may be an
indicator that the outlook for the lubricants
business is starting to improve and
consolidation may once again heat up.
According to Maxum Petroleum's S-1 filings on
October 25, 2007, the company sold close to 40
million gallons of lubricants and over 1
billion gallons of fuel. When one considers
its acquisitions following that period,
organic growth, and others, it's estimated the
company's sales is currently on track for
close to 50
million gallons of lubricant and roughly 1.3
billion in fuels in 2009. According to
Petroleum Trends International, this makes
Maxum the largest lubricant marketer in
the US.
About Maxum: Maxum Petroleum, Inc.,
based in Greenwich,
CT, is a leading independent energy logistics
company that markets and distributes a
comprehensive offering of refined petroleum
products and services to commercial and
industrial customers. Maxum Petroleum is
continuing a strategic growth and acquisition
plan in the fragmented commercial fuel and
lubricant distribution industry, launched in
2004 with the acquisition of Simons
Petroleum. To date, Maxum has completed 12
acquisitions of fuel and lubricant marketers
and facilities, including Simons Petroleum,
Trevco, Hartney, Pecos (including its General
Petroleum and Rainier Petroleum
subsidiaries), Canyon State Oil, Petroleum
Products, Paulson Oil and Mid-State
Industrial Lubricants. In January 2009, Maxum
received a $300 million equity investment
from leading private equity firms Metalmark
Capital and Waud Capital Partners to further
its consolidation strategy.
