JERICHO, N.Y. -- Getty Realty Corp. has closed on the acquisition of the fee interests in 30 convenience-store and gas-station properties from E-Z Mart Stores Inc., a privately owned regional c-store chain in the Southern United States, for about $52 million.
At the same time, a subsidiary of GPM has taken ownership of 273 convenience stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas from E-Z Mart Stores Inc. in a deal announced in December.
In connection with the acquisition by GPM Investments LLC of E-Z Mart, Getty has leased the 30 properties in all four states to GPM under a unitary lease. The unitary lease provides for an initial term of 15 years, with four five-year renewal options. Rent is scheduled to increase annually during the initial and renewal terms of the lease.
“We are excited to have completed this transaction, which expands our existing relationship with GPM Investments, one of the leading convenience-store operators in the United States,” said Christopher Constant, president and CEO of Getty. “The properties acquired represent a high-quality convenience-store and gasoline-station portfolio and are located in strong commercial real estate markets, with approximately one third of the sites being located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan market. The completion of this transaction also continues our stated objective to grow and further diversify our portfolio in the convenience and gas sector.”
The company funded the transaction through funds available under its revolving credit facility and expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to net earnings.
For GPM, this growth into the Southwest marks new territory. A family-owned c-store business based in Texarkana, Texas, E-Z Mart stores have been operating for close to 50 years.
The E-Z Mart stores have now leapt from their former ranking as the 31st largest chain in the United States, to being part of the sixth largest chain of convenience stores, according to CSP’s Top 202 ranking of chains by number of company-operated outlets.
"We are very excited about the E-Z Mart Stores. (Former Owner and CEO) Sonja Yates Hubbard and her employees have been dedicated to building a brand worthy of Jim Yates’ legacy. We plan to continue providing their customers with the same quality of service,” said Arie Kotler, CEO of GPM. “Bringing the E-Z Mart family of associates into the GPM fold was very important to our leadership team. We look forward to our continued development as we grow together through acquisitions.”
Richmond, Va.-based GPM operates or supplies fuel to about 1,400 c-stores in 22 states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Getty Realty is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, leasing and financing of c-store and gas-station properties. As of Dec. 31, 2017, the company owned 828 properties and leased 79 properties from third-party landlords in 28 states and Washington, D.C.
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