Looking to the future while preserving a long-standing business on PEI
R.M. Cooper Limited has run ‘Cooper’s Red and White’ since 1960—establishing its long-standing reputation as a friendly, family-owned convenience store and gas station. Located in Belfast, Prince Edward Island, the business has proudly served the community, working with suppliers Shell and Loblaws to provide fuel, automotive accessories, and groceries.
While the family business has become a successful community hub over the years, owners at R.M. Cooper decided the time was right to start their next chapter. When selling a family business, there are often additional complexities to work through, so the family wanted professional business advice to help them balance the needs of all family members involved. Protecting the business’ legacy and commitment to serving the community played a major role in the decision-making process.
Our M&A team came in at this stage to help walk them through their options and worked together to come up with a plan that would balance their family’s priorities. After exploring possible options, the owners concluded that the best way forward for the family was to seek an outside buyer. We helped them start the search to find a buyer and guided them through each stage of the sales process, in addition to tax planning and due diligence services.
R.M. Cooper found the right buyer in One Vision Farms, a company run by Kyle and Vanessa Panton, a young, local couple from PEI who shared the Cooper family’s commitment to preserving the business’ legacy. One Vision Farms is now set to continue R.M. Cooper’s community-centric vision as they take their new business into the future.
Client
R.M. Cooper
Transaction type
Divestiture
Services provided
M&A
Sector
Retail
Close date
July, 2024
“As the previous owners of a well-established local business that has served the community for over 60 years, keeping it local was our ultimate goal. Knowing the new owners—after working with them previously and them having knowledge of our business—was such an asset and made the transition a whole lot easier.
We’re delighted with the way everything proceeded. The team was professional and each stage of the process was completed in a timely manner.”
R.M. Cooper Limited
Our M&A team helped the owners of Grizzly Lodge successfully sell their business, supporting with the entire process from preparing marketing documents and finding the right buyer, to negotiations and bringing the deal to a close.
Two BC-based food and beverage businesses committed to serving their local communities
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