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Superior Plus acquires Freeman Gas in $170 million deal

June 16, 2021 By    

Superior Plus Propane, a wholly owned subsidiary of Superior Plus Corp., acquired the assets of Freeman Gas and Electric Co., a retail propane distribution company based in South Carolina, for an aggregate purchase price of about $170 million (CA$213 million) before adjustments for working capital.

The acquisition builds on Superior’s U.S. propane distribution footprint in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.

Founded in 1936 by J.R. Freeman Sr. and H.S. McKeown, Freeman is an independent, family-owned and -operated retail propane distributor servicing about 67,000 residential and commercial customers primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Freeman has 23 retail branch offices and 38 bulk plants, about 7 million gallons of storage capacity, a fleet of 224 vehicles and about 275 employees.

Superior says the acquisition aligns with its core strategy of investing in established businesses that are in desirable geographies and generate stable free cash flow.

“We are very pleased to enter into this transaction, which expands our U.S. propane distribution business in the Southeast U.S.,” says Luc Desjardins, Superior’s president and CEO. “Freeman is a solid business, and we look forward to welcoming the team to Superior and continuing to provide outstanding customer service to their customers.”

Freeman marks Superior’s fourth acquisition in 2021 and its first acquisition following the sale of its specialty chemicals division.

“The acquisition of Freeman is representative of the acquisition opportunities we are seeing in the market today, which should enable us to double our U.S. propane distribution EBITDA in the next five years,” adds Desjardins.

Matrix Capital Markets Group provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Freeman, which included valuation advisory, marketing the business through a confidential, structured sale process, and negotiation of the transaction. The transaction was managed by Vance Saunders, managing director; Spencer Cavalier, co-head of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group; John Duni, vice president; and John Mickelinc, associate.

Photo: designer491/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

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1 Comment on "Superior Plus acquires Freeman Gas in $170 million deal"

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  1. Sorry to see Freeman Gas being sold, unless Rob Freeman is able to continue on doing the solid work he has done for the last 3 plus decades helping to represent the propane industry in various roles. Rob’s involvement as TS&S Chairman and NPGA representative on the NFPA 58 Committee has benefited the propane industry in numerous ways and we owe him a debt for that.
    Congratulations, Rob and Freeman Gas!