CALGARY, Alberta — Parkland USA has entered into an agreement to acquire Conrad & Bischoff Inc., an Idaho-based retail, commercial, wholesale and lubricants business with 19 company-owned c-stores under the KJ’s Super Stores brand, as well as 39 dealer sites.
Through this acquisition, Calgary, Alberta-based Parkland Corp. will establish a fourth U.S. regional operating center (ROC) in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
“This acquisition checks all the boxes of our U.S. growth strategy and complements our existing ROCs,” said Doug Haugh, president of Parkland USA. “C&B strengthens our supply advantage, brings a high-quality retail network and offers a long runway for organic growth.”
Family owned and operated since 1959, C&B’s operations—with annual fuel and petroleum product volume of approximately 185 million gallons—are concentrated in and western Wyoming with additional distribution capability into Utah, Nevada, Montana and other states.
The transaction includes the 58 retail locations, terminal operations with combined tank storage of 8 million gallons and capacity for 88 rail cars, adding significant supply optionality in PADD IV, the company said.
Gross profit from the acquired assets is split approximately 55% retail operations and 45% wholesale and commercial operations, said the company.
Conrad & Bischoff owns and operates 17 Phillips 66-branded retail sites, including one travel center, in three states: 14 in Idaho, two in Wyoming and one in Utah. The Idaho Falls, Idaho-based company also operates two Shell-branded retail sites on leased properties in Jackson, Wy., and Elko, Nev. All of the stores are branded with C&B’s proprietary brand, KJ’s Super Stores; 15 locations have carwashes and three have a quick-service restaurant (QSR) offering. The travel center includes a cardlock and seven other retail sites are equipped to serve fleet customers as part of the CFN network.
The dealer business supplies fuel to 39 dealers: 36 Phillips 66, two Marathon and one Shell in 3 states—33 in Idaho, four in Wyoming and two in Montana.
“In addition to adding an exceptional team, C&B creates a springboard for growth throughout the Pacific Northwest,” Haugh said. “We continue to profitably grow our U.S. business and will remain disciplined in our appraisal of the many opportunities we see in front of us.”
Parkland will fund the acquisition out of existing credit facility capacity. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, and the companies expect to close the transaction in second-quarter 2021.
“Our assets, including our extensive rail networks and storage facilities, make a strong infrastructure connection for Parkland’s existing operations in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and the Dakotas, which will provide our employees more growth opportunities and enable even greater service for our customers,” said Jared Neville, board member of Conrad & Bischoff. “More importantly, however, our decision to join forces with Parkland was due to the longstanding, deep and caring relationship we have had with Parkland USA’s leadership team that gave us comfort and confidence that the acquisition and integration would be handled the right way.”
- Parkland USA is No. 121 onCSP's2020 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Charleston, S.C.-based Parkland USA has operations in 13 mostly Western U.S. states. Brands include Farstad Oil, Superpumper, Harts and Rhinehart Oil. Along with the new ConoMart Super Stores, its 58 company-owned stores include Superpumper locations in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Minnesota; Harts Stores in Utah and Colorado; and KB Oil KB Express locations in Utah. It has 324 dealers under the Sinclair, Exxon, Phillips 66, Arco, Cenex and Chevron brands, as well as approximately 42 commercial locations.
In December, two acquisitions—Story Distributing, Bozeman, Mont., and Carter Oil, Flagstaff, Ariz.—added another 13 retail sites and approximately 40 retail dealers in four states to Parkland’s U.S. presence.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.