LAVAL, Quebec -- As the news broke of the resignation of its CFO Raymond Paré, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. announced that it has signed, through Circle K Stores Inc., an agreement to purchase all the assets operated under the Texas Star brand from Corpus Christi, Texas-based Texas Star Investments Inc. and its affiliates.
The assets include 18 convenience stores, two freestanding Subway restaurants and a dealer fuel supply network located in the southern part of Texas.
As reported in a 21st Century Smoke/CSP Daily News Flash, these convenience stores operate under the Texas Star c-store brand and offer Shell- and CITGO-branded motor fuels. As a result of the transaction, Couche-Tard plans on keeping the existing fuel brands and would buy the land and buildings for 17 locations and would assume or enter into a lease for the one remaining location.
Following the acquisition, all of the stores will be operated under the new Circle K brand by Couche‑Tard's U.S. Southwest Division.
"Subsequent to this transaction, Couche-Tard's network in the Circle K Southwest Division would include a total of 356 company-operated stores and 157 locations under wholesale or franchise agreement,” said Kelly McGuire, vice president of operations for the U.S. Southwest Division. “These stores occupy strategic locations within their respective trade areas. This acquisition would be a great addition to Couche-Tard's expansion and growth plans for the Southwest Division.”
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price for this transaction, which the company said it expects to close in the second half of Couche-Tard's fiscal 2016, subject to the standard regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
Couche-Tard will finance the acquisition from its available cash and existing credit facilities, it said.
NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC, Chicago, represented Texas Star the transaction.
Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s network includes nearly 8,000 convenience stores throughout North America, including more than 6,500 offering fuel. The network consists of 15 business units, including 11 in the United States (under the Circle K and The Pantry’s Kangaroo Express brands) covering 41 states and four in Canada (under the Couche-Tard, Mac’s and Circle K brands) covering all 10 provinces.
In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a retail network of more than 2,200 sites across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Poland, the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and Russia. And independent operators run approximately 4,700 Circle K stores in China, Guam, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, bringing to nearly 15,000 the number of sites in Couche-Tard's global network.
The company recently announced that it will rebrand all of its stores in all markets to a new Circle K brand (with the exception of the Couche-Tard c-stores in Quebec).
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