Amtel Has Been Acquired by Amtel Partners, an Investment Vehicle Sponsored by Houston-Based Priest Equities

HOUSTON, September 10, 2019 — GulfStar Group is pleased to announce that Amtel, LLC has been acquired by Amtel Partners, LLC, an investment vehicle sponsored by Houston-based Priest Equities, LLC. The transaction was financed through a $56,000,000 senior credit facility provided by Amegy Bank, Woodforest National Bank, and Bank of Texas. GulfStar served as the exclusive financing and structuring advisor to Priest Equities in the debt placement, which closed on August 30, 2019.

Based in Grapevine, Texas, Amtel is a leading T-Mobile Premium Retailer (TPR) with 152 locations across multiple U.S. geographies, including Texas, California, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, New York and Massachusetts. Amtel is led by long-tenured wireless retail industry veterans who manage a team of highly talented, store-level employees that deliver world-class customer service and leading T-Mobile system operational performance.

“We greatly appreciate GulfStar’s strong effort and practiced guidance in helping to architect a truly optimal structure for the acquisition of Amtel,” said Andy Priest, CEO of Amtel Partners. “GulfStar brought substantial industry knowledge and financing market experience to the table, and served as a true partner from the starting line to the closing table.”

“As a proven, top-tier TPR, Amtel is very well-positioned for continued growth via new store initiatives and through in-system acquisitions, as dealer consolidation continues to accelerate across the carrier landscape,” said Scott Winship, Managing Director and Head of Consumer Products and Services at GulfStar. “We would like to specifically recognize Andy Priest and Jeff Bookout for the strategic vision and dogged determination that was required to consummate this transaction. We look forward to Amtel’s near-term acceleration into visible expansion opportunities under their good stewardship.”

Brian Lobo, Managing Director and Head of the Debt Advisory Practice at GulfStar added: “We are pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Andy and Jeff on this important transaction. An essential element of this transaction was to create a flexible capital structure with features that would enable Amtel Partners to rapidly pursue near-term growth initiatives. The partnership with Amegy Bank, Woodforest National Bank, and Bank of Texas has enabled Amtel Partners to achieve this objective with an all senior solution.”

The GulfStar team was led by Managing Directors Scott Winship and Brian Lobo along with Vice President Charles Craig and Associate Sarah Wilson. Bill Boyar, Cyrus Chin and Alex Parker of BoyarMiller provided legal counsel to Priest Equities.

About Amegy Bank
Amegy Bank, a division of Zions Bancorporation, N.A., is a leading Texas bank with $13 billion in assets and about 1,600 employees. With more than 75 locations across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Central Texas, Amegy is dedicated to serving Texas communities, families and businesses. Founded in 1990, Amegy has a strong tradition of relationship banking, broad financial expertise and local decision making. Amegy specializes in banking businesses of all sizes, particularly family-owned businesses, and has the resources to provide financing, treasury management and other products and services that help companies grow. Equally important, the bank offers individuals and families a wide range of depository, lending, wealth management and mortgage solutions.

About Woodforest National Bank
Headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, Woodforest is a privately held bank that currently operates over 700 branches in 17 states across the United States. Proudly offering outstanding quality customer service since 1980, Woodforest has successfully stood among the strongest community banks in the nation for more than 37 years.

About Bank of Texas
Bank of Texas is part BOK Financial, a top 25 U.S.-based bank with clients from coast to coast and banking operations in eight states throughout the Midwest and Southwest. The bank provides a variety of financial services, including financing, loan syndication, leasing, cash management, private banking, and investment management services for institutions and individuals. BOK Financial has $41.9 billion in total assets and another $81.8 billion in assets under management or administration.

About GulfStar Group
GulfStar is a leading middle market investment bank headquartered in Houston. GulfStar specializes in providing merger and acquisition advisory services, institutional private placements of equity and debt, and general corporate finance advisory services to companies with revenues or enterprise values generally ranging from $25 million to $350 million. Since its formation in 1990, GulfStar has completed more than 680 transactions in 35 states and 16 foreign countries across a variety of industries.