Should I Stay or Should I Go? - A Big Propane Wholesaler's Exit Raises Questions for Its Peers

The decision by the U.S.’s largest independent propane wholesaler to exit the business serves as a reminder of the challenges and risks that companies like it face. The move also highlights the fact that at least some other independent wholesalers — including the presumed buyer of NGL Energy Partners’ propane-related assets — believe that by increasing their scale and scope they can compete more effectively with their two classes of competitors: affiliates of big midstream companies and affiliates of propane retailers. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss what the latest M&A activity in the propane space reveals.