Applegreen Makes Its First Major Midwest Acquisition

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — CrossAmerica Partners LP and Applegreen plc reached a deal for Applegreen to operate 46 company-operated retail stores in the Upper Midwest.

As part of this pact, CrossAmerica will enter into a master fuel supply and master lease agreement with Applegreen. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019. 

"We are pleased to continue to expand our relationship with Applegreen. They are strong world-class operators and we expect that they will have a positive impact operating these sites in the Upper Midwest," said Gerardo Valencia, CEO and president of CrossAmerica.

"At the completion of this this transaction, we will have dealerized all of our remaining company-operated sites and our sole focus will be on our wholesale operations partnering with strong operators to deliver our promise to the end consumer."

In August, the two companies inked master fuel supply and master lease agreements for Ireland-based Applegreen to operate 43 locations in Florida, as Convenience Store News previously reported. At the time, Valencia pointed out Applegreen is a good retail fit for CrossAmerica.

Prior to that deal, Applegreen operated 20-plus sites for CrossAmerica in the Northeast.

"Following significant acquisitions on the east coast of the [United States] in the past two years, we are delighted to announce our first major acquisition in the Midwest. We consider this group of sites to be a good fit for our business given the convenience of its locations centered in the large metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St. Paul and we are happy to expand on our existing relationship with [CrossAmerica] in the [U.S.]," said Bob Etchingham, chief executive of Applegreen.

"We believe that this acquisition represents an opportunity to establish a significant presence in another market in the USA while leveraging our existing management and operational capabilities," he added.

Allentown-based CrossAmerica Partners LP is a leading wholesale distributor of motor fuels and owner and lessor of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels. Its general partner, CrossAmerica GP LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Formed in 2012, CrossAmerica Partners LP is a distributor of branded and unbranded petroleum for motor vehicles in the United States and distributes fuel to over 1,200 locations and owns or leases approximately 900 sites.

Applegreen is a convenience food and beverage retailer and operator of petrol forecourts and motorway service areas with a major presence in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The group had 472 sites as of Dec. 31.