COLD SPRING, Ky. -- In late February, a bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of 111 AmeriStop stores for $56.3 million, including the 59 stores approved for sale by their franchisees. The 111 stores, owned by Cold Spring, Ky.-based Petro Acquisitions, sold after a two-day auction, reported The Business Courier of Cincinnati. Among the buyers were Village Variety Store Operations LLC and DBT Investment Corp., according to newspaper, citing The Deal. Many of the local stores had been operated under the name Ohio Valley AFM Inc.
And as reported in CSP Daily News, Road Ranger LLC purchased 11 [image-nocss] AmeriStop stores in Kentucky and Ohio, and Village Pantry Inc. acquired nine stores in central Ohio.
Lance Little, who owns several AmeriStop convenience store franchises in northern Kentucky, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that the owners of the franchise stores were forming a limited-liability company in hopes of continuing the AmeriStop name. "I think we're pretty relieved that this is almost over, and we're going to have our independence," he said.
Owners of 59 regional AmeriStop franchise stores said they expect to close this week on a nearly $7 million deal that will allow them to maintain control of their c-stores. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the prime leases on the franchisees' stores were among the items put on the auction block.
The franchisees formed to Convenience Franchise Group LLC to bid on the prime leases, the paper said. Ultimately, their collective bid of $6.9 million in cash held up, despite Hyde Park, Ohio-based Gilligan Oil Co.'s bid of $7.1 million, according to the report, citing franchisees' lawyer, Marcia Andrew of the Cincinnati law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
Included in the franchisees' bid was their agreement to release all claims against Petro Acquisitions. Among other allegations, this includes claims that the company overcharged franchisees for fuel, failed to pass through rebates and failed to pay vendors, resulting in damages that could exceed $10 million, Andrew told the paper.
Petro Acquisitions and its entities began filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, with their final filing on January 18. But complications arose when some franchisees realized a sale would include the leases of all their locations, said the Enquirer. So they sought court approval to buy the licenses themselves.
A court-ordered auction was held February 14 to sell Petro Acquisition's assets. With an offer of $23 million, Road Ranger was the highest bidder for the 11 stores, which are in Hebron, Florence, Crescent Springs, Covington, Wilder, Alexandria and Franklin, according to NRC Realty Advisors, which served as a financial adviser in the transaction.
For Village Pantry, the $15.6 million acquisition is a step toward a previously promised doubling of its size.
"We are delighted to add this important Ohio market [northwest of Columbus] to our growing Midwest footprint," Mick Parker, president and CEO, said in a press release. "We expect to take advantage of the economies of scale offered by this transaction and better positioned to enhance the value proposition for our loyal customers as we continue to introduce new merchandising concepts."
Village Pantry and its parent company Sun Capital Partners also were the runner-up bidders for eight other stores in Kentucky. Most of those sites, however, went to Road Ranger. "Road Ranger is excited about its acquisition of these former AmeriStop sites, and is looking forward to expanding rapidly in the near future through the strategic acquisition of groups of stores and companies that fit Road Ranger's criteria," Dan Arnold, founder and president, said in a statement.
Indianapolis-based Village Pantry, an affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc., is a regional c-store chain operating 179 company-owned locations in Indiana and Ohio.
Based in Rockford, Ill., Road Ranger is a Midwest retail petroleum c-store chains with annual revenues of approximately $650 million. All stores operate under the Road Ranger banner and are located in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin.
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