Alimentation Couche-Tard has agreed to buy Poland’s largest convenience-store retailer, Żabka Group. If the $8.6 billion deal closes by December as the companies expect, it would mark the Circle K convenience-store operator’s largest acquisition to date, the companies said in a Friday news release.
Żabka Group operates more than 13,000 convenience stores across Poland and Romania and services approximately 4.3 million average daily transactions. For Couche-Tard, which already has a presence in Poland with nearly 400 c-stores under its wholly owned subsidiary Circle K Polska, the transaction will add an immediate, scaled platform in Central and Eastern Europe, the companies said.
Alex Miller, president and CEO of Couche-Tard, said the agreement marked an important milestone in the company’s growth journey.
“We are committed to supporting the continued growth of the Żabka business while drawing from its strengths in areas such as food, digital engagement, customer loyalty, private brand, supply chain, logistics and innovation, and as a result, further accelerating our Core + More strategy,” Miller said.
Couche-Tard would preserve Żabka’s management structure, highly recognized brand, franchise model and local expertise, the companies said.
- Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2 on CSP’s 2026 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Żabka was founded in 1998 and is based in Poznań, Poland. It’s been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since October 2024. Its network is built around compact, modular neighborhood stores, averaging about 700 square feet. The stores are strategically located across urban, suburban and rural communities, the companies said.
Żabka has one of Europe’s most advanced convenience retailer platforms, the companies said. The integrated and increasingly diversified ecosystem has about 11.7 million users across its digital channels, its loyalty program, advanced data and analytics capabilities and a growing portfolio of digital, e-commerce and foodservice business.
"Today's transaction marks the beginning of an entirely new and exciting chapter for Żabka Group,” said Tomasz Blicharski, chief strategy and development officer and CEO designate for Żabka Group. “Couche-Tard shares our commitment to innovation, convenience and customer-centricity and recognizes the strength of the brand, the franchise community and the team that have made Żabka one of Europe's leading convenience platforms. Together, we will be even better positioned to accelerate growth, continue investing in our people and capabilities, and create even greater value for customers, franchisees, and communities.”
The acquisition follows a nine-year partnership with CVC and with Partners Group, which invested in 2019, during which Żabka underwent “a remarkable transformation, strengthened its market position and expanded into new areas of growth,” Tomasz Suchański, CEO and chairperson of the Board of Directors of Żabka Group, said.
Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard operates in 27 countries and territories, and has nearly 17,300 stores, of which approximately 13,200 offer fuel. It’s the second-largest convenience-store operator in the United States, following Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven, with more than 7,300 stores as of Jan. 1.
7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings, Tokyo, was in talks to buy Żabka Group earlier this month, Reuters reported, but they failed to reach an agreement.
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