Worsley Operating Corporation Acquires Li'l Cricket Food Stores, an Operator of 88 Convenience Stores in South Carolina

Business Wire,  May 22, 2008  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Worsley Operating Corporation ("Worsley") today announced that it has acquired the business of Li'l Cricket Food Stores, Inc. and its affiliates ("Li'l Cricket"), an operator of 88 convenience stores in South Carolina under the Li'l Cricket brand name. Li'l Cricket sells premium fuel under several major petroleum brands including Valero and Marathon. Worsley operates 122 convenience stores in North and South Carolina under the Scotchman, Youngs', and S-E names and sells premium fuel under several major petroleum brands including BP, Exxon, Shell, Mobil, and Sunoco, as well as its proprietary brands Carolina Petro and Anytime Energy. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Jeffery W. Turpin, President and CFO of Worsley, said, "This is a wonderful add-on acquisition that complements Worsley's South Carolina footprint and provides us with the opportunity to enhance the value proposition for Li'l Cricket's loyal customers."

Worsley is an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. ("Sun Capital"), a leading private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, equity, and other investments in market-leading companies that can benefit from its in-house operating professionals and experience, and is a sister affiliate to Village Pantries Holding Corp. ("Village Pantry"), an operator of 190 convenience stores throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, providing a broad selection of grocery, delicatessen, and bakery items as well as other value-added service offerings. Village Pantry enjoys the second largest market share in Central Indiana and provides fuel services at 139 locations. In aggregate, affiliates of Sun Capital own approximately 400 convenience stores in five Midwestern and southeastern states, selling 277 million gallons of fuel annually.

David A. Blechman, Principal of Sun Capital, commented, "We are pleased to add Li'l Cricket to the Worsley platform. We expect to take advantage of the economies of scale and increased merchandising opportunities afforded by this transaction as we continue to fill-in our regional platform and build a national operating convenience store group."

Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. served as financial advisor to Li'l Cricket.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning