Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc., an independent investment bank, announced Dec. 21 that Tri Gas & Oil Co. Inc. and Comfort Plus Services LLC has acquired a leading Delmarva Peninsula-based refined fuels distributor and HVAC services business. The seller is undisclosed. Tri Gas & Oil, and its predecessor entities, have been delivering fuel and providing customer service throughout the Delmarva Peninsula since the late 1950s.

In 1946, Lee D. McMahan founded the McMahan Poultry Co., and several years later he acquired a used oil truck to deliver fuel to his own poultry houses. Soon after, he started delivering fuel to neighboring poultry farmers who wanted the benefit of oil delivery. Tri Gas & Oil was officially incorporated in 1963, delivering heating oil throughout the Delmarva Peninsula.

At the time of incorporation, Tri Gas & Oil primarily offered propane and heating oil delivery to commercial customers. As the business grew, offerings were expanded to include residential customers, and also additional product lines. For more than three generations, customers have relied on Tri Gas & Oil as a locally owned, family-run business that specializes in making area homes and businesses more comfortable, and in helping customers lower their energy costs. Today, Tri Gas & Oil serves customers throughout Maryland and Delaware, with a core density on Delmarva. Comfort Plus Services has years of experience installing and repairing providing heating and air conditioning systems as well as indoor air quality (IAQ) solutions.

Keith McMahan, chairman & CEO, and Nash McMahan, president, Tri Gas & Oil, commented, “This acquisition is very complementary to our existing business divisions, and we look forward to welcoming both the customers and employees of the seller into the greater Tri Gas family of businesses. We are especially excited for the expansion opportunity that this presents to Comfort Plus Services.”
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services for the transaction.

SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, December 23, 2020. Weekly Propane Newsletter subscribers receive all the latest posted and spot prices from major terminals and refineries around the U.S. delivered to inboxes every week. Receive a center spread of posted prices with hundreds of postings updated each week, along with market analysis, insightful commentary, and much more not found elsewhere.