C-Store News

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Appalachian Oil for sale; bankruptcy court names NRC executive to manage process

P. A. (Andy) Weber, III, senior vice president of NRC Realty & Capital Advisors, LLC, has been named chief restructuring officer for Appalachian Oil Company, Inc. of Blountville, Tennessee, a company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

The appointment was approved April 14 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marsha Parsons of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, according to a statement issued by NRC. Weber will be responsible for all operational and financial matters of the company as well as all efforts to market and sell the company's assets. It is part of a broader agreement between Appalachian Oil and its creditors, including principal secured creditor Greystone Business Credit II, LLC, to facilitate a sale of the company and its assets. In connection with that agreement, the company will be filing an application with the court seeking to retain NRC Realty Advisors to serve as sales agent with respect to the marketing of the company and its assets.

Appalachian Oil is operator of some 55 convenience stores located in Tennessee and Kentucky. As has been reported previously, the company's financial difficulties became public knowledge early this year, leading up to a filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Feb. 9. At a hearing a week ago, landlords for many of Appalachian's retail gasoline and convenience store facilities asked for permission to terminate leases on stores and evict Appalachian, but the court gave the company an additional week to find a solution and to pay the delinquent rent.

Although no specific timeline has been established for placing the company or its assets on the market, it is "likely to be a matter of a very few weeks," according to Weber.

NRC has extensive experience in the sale of convenience stores and gasoline stations, including sales of whole operating companies. Based on that experience, Weber said, "Although it is NRC's initial impression that the best and most efficient way to market the assets of Appalachian Oil is on a portfolio basis of the entire company, all options will certainly be evaluated. NRC will be reaching out to companies we know who are qualified purchasers likely to have an interest in buying all or parts of this company, but we will also be welcoming inquiries from other prospective bidders."

Weber's early career was in the downstream segment of Shell Oil Company, serving in various sales and marketing management capacities including responsibility for Shell's investments in dealer and company-operated retail markets including New Orleans, Birmingham, and Chicago. Subsequently, he was an international consultant for Arthur D. Little's Global Energy Practice, spent ten years as a principal at Roundtree Capital, and founded Corner Capital Partners, LLC, before joining NRC Realty Advisors last year.

NRC Realty & Capital Advisors, LLC provides real estate and financial advisory services to the convenience store and petroleum industries. In addition, NRC specializes in the accelerated sale of North American commercial and residential real estate. Since its inception in 1989, NRC said, it has sold more than 10,000 properties. Clients include globally recognized companies in a variety of industries, including petroleum (BP, Shell and Sunoco), convenience stores (White Hen Pantry), financial institutions (GE Capital and Fifth Third Bank) and retail (Kmart).

For more information, visit www.nrc.com/906.

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