Reliable Energy Partners, a platform company of Soundcore Capital Partners, has acquired Economy Propane, a distributor of propane fuel.
Economy Propane distributes bulk propane to residential and commercial customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The company manages a fleet of delivery vehicles and storage infrastructure to supply fuel for heating, cooking, and industrial power. The company delivers bulk propane to residential storage tanks for home heating and to commercial logistics centers to fuel forklift fleets. The company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.
In November, Soundcore announced the formation of Reliable Energy Partners as a platform in the propane distribution sector and that it had acquired its first two businesses with the acquisitions of Tampa-based Florida Lift Gas and La Vergne, Tennessee-based Nashville Propane Exchange.
“Economy has a well-deserved reputation for delivering bulk propane safely and efficiently,” said Sean Daugherty, the chief executive officer at Reliable Energy Partners. “By bringing Economy into the Reliable family, we’re not just growing — we’re diversifying strategically. This marks our entrance into the bulk propane business and opens a new avenue to serve commercial and residential customers in an important region.”
The propane distribution sector in the United States is highly fragmented, with over 2,000 independent retailers operating across regional and local markets. This structure, coupled with the industry’s route-based service model and recurring cash flows, has drawn sustained interest from private equity firms seeking consolidation opportunities. Matrix Capital Markets Group identifies the sector’s scalability and consistent customer demand as key investment drivers, noting that propane serves nearly 12 million residential, commercial, and agricultural accounts nationwide.
Market size and growth projections reinforce investor interest. According to Fortune Business Insights, the U.S. propane market was valued at $26.6 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.4% through 2030. As private equity capital continues to flow into fragmented service industries, the propane sector offers a favorable landscape for buy-and-build strategies aimed at achieving scale, operational efficiency, and geographic expansion.
“We founded Reliable to build a best-in-class, multi-regional propane distribution platform,” said Michael Khutorsky, a senior managing director at Soundcore. “The acquisition of Economy reflects a critical prong of our strategic plan to become a supplier of choice, complementing our previous cylinder exchange acquisitions and positioning Reliable for robust growth across residential, commercial, and industrial end markets.”
Soundcore Capital Partners specializes in North America-based buy-and-build investments in the lower middle market. Target companies typically have EBITDA from $2 million to $14 million and are active in business and outsourced services, industrial services, specialty manufacturing, and value-added distribution sectors. The firm closed its most recent fund, Soundcore Capital Partners Fund II LP, at $350 million in July 2018 and is currently in the process of raising its third fund. Soundcore was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in New York City.
“We founded Reliable to build a best-in-class, multi-regional propane distribution platform,” said Michael Khutorsky, a senior managing director at Soundcore. “The acquisition of Economy reflects a critical prong of our strategic plan to become a supplier of choice, complementing our previous cylinder exchange acquisitions and positioning Reliable for robust growth across residential, commercial, and industrial end markets.”
