June 23, 2025 — Matrix Capital Markets Group, Inc. announced it advised Cary Oil Co., Inc. on the Cary Oil Breeze Thru sale, which involved the divestment of its 15-store convenience retail business to Sampson-Bladen Oil Co., Inc. Cary will continue operating its extensive wholesale fuels distribution business, supplying approximately 1,000 dealers across more than 20 states and delivering nearly 1 billion gallons of fuel annually.
Cary Oil Company was founded in 1959 by Harry Stephenson, operating a single tankwagon delivering home heating oil throughout the town of Cary, North Carolina. Over the next several decades, Cary began offering a full slate of branded motor fuels and expanded its geographic reach across the Southeast. As its wholesale distribution network continued to extend into the southwest and parts of the midwestern U.S., Cary also began operating convenience stores in its home state of North Carolina, branding these locations with its proprietary Breeze Thru Markets imaging. The Breeze Thru network consisted of 15 stores, selling BP, 76 and Amoco branded fuels and served many local communities throughout North Carolina.
Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Cary, which included valuation advisory, marketing the businesses through a confidential, structured sale process and negotiation of the transaction. The transaction was managed by John Duni, CFA, CPA, director; Spencer Cavalier, CFA, ASA, co-head of Matrix’s Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group; and Michael Tucker, CFA, senior associate.
Craig Stephenson, CEO of Cary’s holding company, COC Properties, Inc., commented, “The Matrix team demonstrated exceptional professionalism and expertise throughout our business unit divestiture process. Their thorough market analysis and deep understanding of buyer expectations helped us position our business effectively, resulting in strong interest from qualified buyers. The team's commitment to process excellence, clear communication and expert management of all transaction aspects made them invaluable partners in achieving our strategic objectives.”
Messrs. Cavalier and Duni added, “We are grateful for our long-term relationship with Cary Oil and the Stephenson family, and we are honored to have worked with their talented management team to consummate this important transaction.”
“The Stephenson Family has built a very well-known and successful family business, and we are honored that they now trust our family to carry on this one small part of their legacy. We have engaged with Matrix in several acquisitions, and their knowledge of our industry really streamlines the process,” commented Sampson-Bladen Oil Co. president, John Litton Clark.
Sampson-Bladen Oil Company, Inc. was founded in 1936 and now, as a fourth-generation, family-owned enterprise, has expanded into convenience store operations, quick serve restaurants, car washes, a wholesale fuel division and a lubricants division. With the purchase of the Breeze Thru stores, Sampson-Bladen Oil Company’s store count has increased to 125 stores covering North Carolina from Duck to Blowing Rock.
Chad McCullen, Stephen Brown and Lisa Leeaphorn of Young Moore and Henderson, P.A. served as legal counsel for Cary.
