Clark Oil

"Just before Christmas 1987 Tony Novelly arrived at Peter Munk’s Hazelton Avenue offices to announce that Novelly’s Apex Oil Company, his holding company for Clark Oil, was in serious trouble. Apex, based in St. Louis, was one of the largest private companies in the U.S., with 1987 revenues over US$2.5 billion. It also owned, with Clark, two refineries in the Midwest with a combined capacity of 160,000 barrels per day, and 960 gas service stations. Novelly had joined Munk’s Barrick Resources board in 1984 and was a strong investor, with more than half a million American Barrick shares in his portfolio. He told Peter Munk that Apex had just defaulted on its loans and was in receivership. Novelly pleaded with Munk to have Horsham take over Apex. He asked Munk to be one of the bidders when the bankruptcy was adjudicated for the whole Apex structure. “Because the banks need my release ... otherwise I’ll sue them,” Novelly said, “If you do it my way, you will have a very strong advantage because I won’ give the release to anybody else. In return I want a participation with you.”"

"The goal would be to convert 100 of these to minimarts and give a general facelift to all retail locations. The team wasted no time in getting into action. Then, in July, Peter Munk negotiated refinancing of Clark Oil, by raising $300 million selling first-mortgage notes through Drexel Burnham Lambert, a major New York financial house."