CHICAGO -- The new owner or owners of bankrupt Gas City's 51 gas stations and truckstops could be announced as soon as next week, and CSP Daily News has learned the frontrunners in the bidding process include Alimentation Couche-Tard and TravelCenters of America (TA).
Couche-Tard made a bid for all of Gas City's properties on March 2, and less than a week later, TA submitted a bid for "several" of Gas City's truckstops, according to court documents accessed by CSP Daily News.
After subsequent discussion among the parties, the documents state, Couche-Tard [image-nocss] revised its bid for 46 gas stations, and TA revised its bid for four truckstops.
In late March, a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Chicago approved stalking-horse protections for Couche-Tard and TA, essentially setting the stage for a final property auction, which was scheduled to take place April 4. A hearing to approve the sale is set for Wednesday, April 13, according to court documents.
Gas City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection October 28, citing more than 1,000 creditors and estimated liabilities of more than $100 million, as previously reported by CSP Daily News (click here for coverage.) Published reports say that debt totaled $365 million.
Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard currently operates a network of more than 5,900 convenience stores, more than 4,175 of which include motor-fuel dispensing. The stores are operated by 12 business units, including nine in the United States (primarily under the Circle K banner) covering 42 states and the District of Columbia, and three in Canada (under the Couche-Tard and Mac's banner) covering all 10 provinces.
At December 31, 2010, Westlake, Ohio-based TA's business included 228 sites, 166 of which were operated under the "TravelCenters of America" or "TA" brand names and 62 of which were operated under the "Petro" brand name. Its offers diesel and gasoline fueling services, restaurants, truck repair facilities, stores and other services. TA's nationwide business includes travel centers located in 41 U.S. states and in Canada.
Gas City is a Frankfort, Ill.-based, family-owned and -operated petroleum marketer and c-store chain with 51 locations (including nine Steel City truckstops) in northeast Illinois, northwest Indiana, Florida and Arizona, according to CSPedia records. The company was founded in Chicago in 1966 with one c-store by current president William J. McEnery.
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