Probate Lawyer in Mayo, SC

An Upstate-created sandwich classic is now in the cupboard of a New England owner.

The sale of Duke's Real Mayonnaise parent Sauer Brands Inc. to a Boston private equity buyout shop has been signed, sealed and delivered, the companies recently announced.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the value of the acquisition by Advent International was pegged at around $1.5 billion, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year.

The deal marked the second time since 2019 a private equity buyer has gobbled up Richmond, Va.-based Sauer, a condiment and sauce business that bought Duke's in 1929. The previous owner, Charlotte-based Falfurrias Capital Partners, was co-founded by Bennettsville native and former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl.

The Southern mayo with the yellow-and-black label touting a "Smooth & Creamy" consistency is among Sauer's best-known grocery-store brands. The spread was created in 1917 by namesake Eugenia Duke, who made sandwiches in her Greenville home to sell to soldiers at a nearby Army camp during World War I.

Sauer also owns packaged-food brands such as Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa and Kernel Season’s, and it operates a production site is in Mauldin.

Advent said Duke’s is the top-growing "scaled player in the mayo category and the seventh-fastest growing brand in the center of store.”

Ship shape

The U.S. military is in the market for a few good ships.

The head of logistics for the Pentagon wants the Navy to purchase 10 used cargo vessels that are still in good shape to support the U.S. Transportation Command that operates out of Joint Base Charleston and other defense installations.

The unit is in charge of quickly dispatching armored vehicles, machinery and supplies in defense of the nation and its allies.

In 2023, for example, Charleston's 841st Transportation Battalion loaded 60 Bradley Fighting Vehicles onto a car carrier at a North Charleston port terminal in support of Ukraine's war with Russia.

Air Force Gen. Randall Reed, who is in charge of the program, said the median age of the command's 46 so-called roll-on/roll-off ships is 47 years, with 14 of them passing the half-century mark. He has expressed concern about the advanced age and declining readiness of the fleet, noting that 30 of the vessels are scheduled for retirement between 2026 and 2034.

"A proactive strategy to recapitalize and modernize this fleet are vital to maintain credible deterrence globally," Reed said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week.

The 841st is responsible for all Department of Defense cargo on commercial vessels along the Atlantic Coast from Georgia to Maine. It conducts documentation support, port clearance and loading and unloading of cargo moving via water, rail or truck. It has the capability to offload up to 150 trucks and 200 rail cars of cargo per day.

Up in the air

After years of flying in tandem, Charleston Southern University has taken the controls of a local flight school.

The North Charleston private school began its aeronautics program in 2021 in partnership with Chucktown Flight Training of Summerville.

As of March, the college now owns the local aviation operation, doing business as Carolina Sky Flight Training.

CSU's inaugural professional pilot degree is the only four-year collegiate program in the state.

In four years, the program has grown to more than 150 from 19, with a 33 percent enrollment growth for its three degree tracks: pilot, aerospace management and aviation maintenance.

Lloyd Richardson, chair of the CSU's Department of Aeronautics, said the program reflects the growing need for quality education in the aerospace industry.

Please re-lease me

The recent buyout of a Southeast convenience store chain included a real estate twist for five locations in Charleston region.

Nouria Energy sold and leased back the Enmarket gas-and-go sites in Dorchester County under a deal with an affiliate of Dallas-based Trammel Crow, according to public land records filed last week.

The sales identified as "Project Square" brought in about $10.15 million for the seller.

One of the stores — on 11 acres at 2272 U.S. Highway 15 in rural Harleyville — accounted for more than half of the total, at nearly $5.8 million. The others are at 4127 Ladson Road near Summerville and at 5963 Jim Bilton Blvd. and 9607 Charleston Highway, both in St. George. The lease for the Edisto Island outpost at 2410 Highway 174 in Charleston County also changed hands, but the real estate was still owned by Enmarket as of March 14.

The leases with Trammel Crow includes renewal options that could extend the terms for up to 50 years.

Nouria Energy is a family-owned company headquartered outside of Boston. It announced it was buying Savannah-based Enmarket, including 133 stores and 25 car washes in the Carolinas and Georgia, from Colonial Group Inc. last fall.

The transaction was finalized Feb. 25. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The newly acquired chain will continue to operate under the Enmarket name, according to Nouria.

Health scare

A medical episode prompted the crew of an inbound flight to Charleston International this past weekend to declare an emergency to the control tower shortly before landing.

The Delta Connection jet was operated by Endeavor Air.

Flight 5293 left John F. Kennedy International in New York City about 7:30 p.m. on March 9 and was on approach and preparing to touch down at CHS when an unidentified passenger experienced what the carrier described as a "medical situation."

The Bombardier CRJ-900 landed around 9:52 p.m. according to FlightAware. The crew then taxied the jet to the gate, where medical personnel were standing by to assist.

No information was released about the nature of the traveler's health ailment, but airport officials said Monday the passenger was OK.

Teri Errico Griffis, John McDermott, David Wren and Megan Fernandes of The Post and Courier contributed to this report.