WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Buying not only itsgas stations but also the brand, Quality Oil Co. LLC has closed on the purchase of the assets of GOGAS Corp. Wilmington, N.C.-based GOGAS directly operated 20 high-volume gas stations in southeastern North Carolina.

GOGAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of K. E. Austin Corp. The sale represents a complete exit from the motor fuels business for Kit and Deborah Austin, who founded the private company in 1976.

“We are fortunate to have found a buyer that is based in North Carolina and matches GOGAS’s culture of customer service, employee relations and vendor relationships,” said Kit Austin. “This will make for a seamless transition. We are very grateful for the wonderful loyal customer support that GOGAS has received over the last 39 years.”

GOGAS started with two stores and has grown over the years through acquisitions of individual sites and building new-to-industry (NTI) gas stations.

The GOGAS portfolio consists of large, well maintained fueling facilities with modern equipment designed to maximize fuel traffic.

As reported in a 21st Century Smoke/CSP Daily News Flash, the 20 stations have total annual fuel volumes of more than 53 million gallons.

Each site features a kiosk-style building for accepting fuel payments and selling top-tier cigarettes at the lowest prices in their markets, according to the company.

Nineteen of the sites were owned fee simple with the remaining site leased from a third party.

As part of the transaction, Quality Oil has also acquired the GOGAS brand, which the companies said has a very loyal customer base.

Quality Oil is retaining all of GOGAS’s eligible store employees and field staff.

Richmond, Va.-based Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. provided merger and acquisition advisory services to GOGAS.

Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to GOGAS, which included valuation advisory, marketing of the Company through a customized, confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. Cedric Fortemps, managing director, and Vance Saunders, director, co-managed the transaction. Kyle Profilet, analyst, also advised on the transaction.

“We’re extremely pleased to have found a buyer in Quality Oil that was eager to add the company’s strong employee base and unique format of stores to their growing portfolio,” said Fortemps.

Quality Oil, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is a diversified petroleum marketer and fuels distributor with operations throughout the southeast United States from Virginia to Florida. Its products and service lines include gas stations and convenience stores, wholesale motor fuels, commercial fuels and lubricants, heating oil and propane, motor fuels transportation, HVAC sales and service and hotels. It operates 42 Quality Marts in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. It also owns and franchises 56 Quality Plus stores, which sell gas and cigarettes only. The Quality Plus stores are run by husband-and-wife teams who live in furnished apartments attached to the store property. The Quality Plus stores also feature drive-thru windows and special cigarette pricing.