LAVAL, Quebec -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved an application by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to divest two retail fuel stations in Minnesota. The divestitures are required under the FTC’s Feb. 15, 2018, final order settling charges that Couche-Tard’s acquisition of Bloomington, Minn.-based Holiday Cos. would violate federal antitrust law.
The application requests that the FTC approve the divestiture of the two retail fuel stations in Saint Peter and Minnetonka, Minn., to Andeavor subsidiary Northern Tier Retail LLC, Woodbury, Minn. (In April, Marathon Petroleum Corp., Findlay, Ohio, agreed to acquire San Antonio-based Andeavor in a deal the companies expect to close in October.)
Couche-Tard’s application also included a third station in St. Paul, Minn., but the company later asked to divest the station to Twin City Petroleum & Property LLC instead. That application is pending final approval by the FTC.
Davie, Fla.-based Twin City Petroleum has a retail and wholesale fuel network that includes 27 gas stations in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Texas under the Sunoco, Marathon, CITGO and ARCO brands.
Under the terms of the consent agreement, Couche-Tard and its affiliate, CrossAmerica Partners LP, were required to identify a buyer or buyers that are acceptable to the FTC within 120 days after the issue date of the order, June 15, 2018, and to divest 10 stations. The agreement also requires Couche-Tard and CrossAmerica to maintain the economic viability, marketability and competitiveness of each station until the divestiture is complete.
- Couche-Tard is No. 2 in CSP's 2018 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by total number of company-owned retail outlets.
Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard's network includes more than 10,000 c-stores in the United States and Canada, primarily under the Circle K brand, including approximately 8,700 that sell motor fuel. Through CrossAmerica Partners LP, Allentown, Pa., Couche-Tard supplies fuel under various brands to more than 1,300 U.S. locations.
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