Alimentation Couche-Tard Sets the Table for Growth in 2025
LAVAL, Quebec — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. had a busy few months reaching acquisition deals with two regional convenience store chains.
In August, the parent company of Circle K inked an agreement to acquire GetGo Café+Markets from Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle Inc. for approximately $1.6 billion. GetGo, the c-store arm of the supermarket retailer, employs approximately 3,500 employees and operates approximately 270 c-stores across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana, as Convenience Store News previously reported.
The transaction, according to Couche-Tard CEO Alex Miller, is expected to close in calendar year 2025. "I and members of the executive team spent a very productive few days with the GetGo management and employees in September, visiting stores and facilities," he said during the company's Q2 2025 earnings call on Nov. 25. "We are excited about our early learnings about GetGo's extremely popular food and loyalty programs and dedicated team members."
In addition to growing through the GetGo transaction, Couche-Tard reached "a small tuck-in purchase agreement" with Elk City, Okla.-based Hutchinson Oil Co. LLC. The agreement will add 20 c-stores carrying the Hutch's banner in Oklahoma and Kansas to Couche-Tard's network and bring the Circle K banner back to those two states, Miller said.
The Hutch's transaction is expected to wrap up in the first quarter of calendar year 2025.
Couche-Tard has also been busy overseas. "We are pleased with the ongoing work with our four new business units as they successfully transition out of a complex carve-out with TotalEnergies," Miller said. "The teams are highly energized and engaged and are making good progress with store rebranding and integration plans."
Additionally, Couche-Tard remains optimistic it can reach a deal for Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings Inc., the parent company of 7-Eleven Inc. The company began its pursuit of Seven & i in August when it made a friendly, unsolicited $38.5 billion bid for the company. Following a rejection by Seven & i's board of directors, Couche-Tard upped its offer to $47 billion.
However, in one of the most recent moves, Seven & i Holdings revealed it has received a $58 billion management buyout offer from Junro Ito, son of company founder Masatoshi Ito and current vice president and representative director, and his private company Ito-Kogyo Co. Ltd.
"We continue to see a strong opportunity to grow together and enhance our offerings and service to millions of customers across the globe. We also remain confident in our ability to finance and complete this combination," Miller said. "We will be persistent and continue our friendly approach to creating what we see as the most compelling outcome for all shareholders, employees and key constituencies of both companies."
On the organic growth front, the company is making progress on its 500 new store build goal. Couche-Tard opened 14 stores in the second quarter of its fiscal year 2025 and is on track to open more than 100 stores in North America this fiscal year.
"As part of our strategic growth ambition, our new stores include dozens of high-speed diesel in rural locations," Miller added.
Laval-based Alimentation Couche-Tard operates in 31 countries and territories, with more than 16,800 stores, of which approximately 13,000 offer road transportation fuel. With its well-known Couche-Tard and Circle K banners, it is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the United States and it is a leader in the convenience store industry and road transportation fuel retail in Canada, Scandinavia, the Baltics, Belgium, as well as in Ireland. It also has an important presence in Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, as well as in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Approximately 149,000 people are employed throughout its network.
It is No. 2 on the 2024 Convenience Store News Top 100 report.
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