Acquisition Announcement: A. W. Peters, Inc.

NEW MILFORD, Conn. – January 17, 2023 – Cetane Associates LLC (Cetane) is pleased to announce that the Ciardelli Fuel Company, Inc. (Ciardelli Fuel), a New Hampshire corporation, has acquired the business assets related to the operations of A. W. Peters, Inc. (A. W. Peters), a full-service delivered fuels business located in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The transaction closed on January 9, 2023.

Founded in 1942 by Ashford “Ash” Peters, A. W. Peters has been passed down for three generations. After 33 years of running his heating oil delivery business, Ash retired and welcomed his son Stan Peters to step in as president. By 1977, Stan’skids, Kerry, Wendy, and Jeff, had joined the company. Jeff was named President in 1989. For more than 30 years, A. W. Peters has had steady growth through four acquisitions and the building of a state-of-the-art bulk plant. The A. W. Peters team takes pride in providing carefree home heating to its loyal customers—their motto is “we make WARM friends.” They built their reputation with dedicated service, installation, and delivery staff. President Jeff Peters commented, “Our strong emphasis on excellence in delivery and service is a great fit with the values of family-run Ciardelli Fuel.” And, he added, “We appreciate the experts at Cetane. They have a great process and do a great job. We had worked with them before—my siblings and I couldn’t be happier—they created a very successful outcome once again.”

Ciardelli Fuel is also a third-generation business. Founded by two Ciardellis, Ernest “Babe” and his nephew Albert Eugene “Chick,” in 1957, the two grew the business for decades and enticed more family members to join their successful endeavor. Today the majority of the responsibility is in the hands of third-generation brothers Matthew “Matt” and Andrew Ciardelli. They carry on the legacy of keeping families warm in their ever-expanding community. Ciardelli Fuel president Matt Ciardelli stated, “We’ve known A. W. Peters as reliable service providers and a solid delivery operation for many years. We look forward to welcoming A. W. Peters’ team of employees and being able to offer their customers continued exceptional service.”

Barrett Conway, Managing Director at Cetane Associates, said, “It was a pleasure working with Jeff throughout this transaction. It was an honor for our team to have worked with the Peters family again and congratulate them on completing the successful sale to Ciardelli Fuel.”

Cetane served as the sole arranger and financial advisor to A. W. Peters. Cetane advised on the sale, including an initial valuation opinion, marketing the business through a confidential process, assisting in negotiating the final deal terms, and coordinating the due diligence process. Team members Barrett Conway, Fred Lord, and Tyler Machado managed the transaction.