Seacoast Capital invests in Stone Road Energy

Seacoast Capital, a lower middle market non-control growth capital investor, made an initial $15.4 million investment in Stone Road Energy.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Gorham, Maine, Stone Road Energy is a retail distributor of propane and heating oil in New England. According to Seacoast Capital, the investment in Stone Road Energy was in support of the company’s track record of acquiring, operating and growing family-owned companies.

“Being New Englanders ourselves, we understand the importance of the heating fuels sector to our geographic footprint,” says Tom Gorman, a partner at Seacoast Capital. “The company’s ownership of multiple fuel retailers and the associated storage capacity results in substantial competitive barriers.”

Seacoast Capital looks toward propane demand with its investment.

“In one of the coldest regions of the U.S., a lack of natural gas infrastructure coupled with high alternative (non-fossil fuel) home-heating costs should result in consistently strong demand for propane and oil used to heat homes,” says Alan Rich, a vice president at Seacoast Capital. “We have high hopes for our Stone Road investment.”

Stone Road Energy evaluated several investment companies before settling on Seacoast Capital.

“We are excited about beginning our relationship with Seacoast Capital,” says Bill Overbay, managing partner at Stone Road Energy. “They were the most thoughtful of any of the other groups we evaluated and were able to take the inevitable deal hurdles in stride and with great flexibility. We look forward to growing Stone Road alongside Seacoast for many years to come.”

This transaction was Seacoast’s seventh 2017 non-controlling platform investment.