It took three tries for Sunoco LP to try to buy Parkland Corp. before it stuck. A presentation published May 28 ahead of the upcoming annual and special meeting of Parkland shareholders showed Sunoco tried to purchase the fuel marketer and convenience-store chain in July and August 2023.
The third Sunoco proposal came in April, and final terms of the deal were agreed to in May, when the companies announced that Sunoco planned to buy Parkland for $9.1 billion.
- Parkland Corp. is No. 38 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
This came about two months after Parkland announced a strategic review of its business.
So, what happened with the first two deals?
According to the presentation, the first offer that came in July 2023 was supported by legal and financial advisors, but Parkland’s board reviewed it and said it undervalued the company and posed “a number of issues for certain shareholders.” In August 2023, Sunoco tried again, but Parkland’s ad hoc working group created to review the revised proposal determined it did not resolve structural issues and still undervalued the company.
Parkland laid out the next steps for the required approvals and targeted close date for the acquisition. Here’s what’s coming up:
- June 24: Shareholders will vote on the proposed acquisition at the annual and special meeting of Parkland shareholders. Some of Parkland’s shareholders have already shared how they will vote. Simpson Oil Limited, Parkland’s largest shareholder, holding 19.8% of its outstanding common shares, said in a Friday news release that it was in support of the transaction and intends to vote all of its common shares in favor of it. Another shareholder, Engine Capital LP, which owns about 2.5% of Parkland’s shares, said on Friday it intends to vote against the acquisition. It noted that it had no opposition to Sunoco or its management team, but it felt the sale process conducted by Parkland’s board was flawed, the transaction undervalues Parkland and there are superior alternatives that would deliver greater value to shareholders.
- Three to six months: Within this time period, several regulatory approvals would need to be granted, including listing of the SunocoCorp Units on the NYSE, approval of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta and receipt of other approvals such as the Competition Act, Canada Transportation Act and more.
- Second half of 2025: This is the targeted close period for the deal.
Dallas-based Sunoco sold 204 c-stores to 7-Eleven Inc. in January 2024, including Stripes convenience stores and Laredo Taco Company restaurants, for approximately $1 billion. That left Sunoco with 75 company-owned retail stores, including 54 Aloha Island Mart c-stores in Hawaii.
Calgary, Alberta-based Parkland is an international fuel distributor, marketer and convenience retailer with operations in 26 countries across the Americas. It is the second-largest c-store operator in Canada, with 650 retail outlets and 1,830 dealer sites. Parkland USA operates about 211 U.S. stores, under brands including On the Run.
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