Couche-Tard Acquires 26 C-Stores in Memphis

LAVAL, Quebec -- Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. continued its U.S. expansion Thursday, announcing the purchase of 26 convenience stores in the Memphis, Tenn., area.

Financial terms of the deal were not revealed, but the Canadian company said the acquisition will add about $80 million to the annual sales of its U.S. subsidiary Circle K Stores Inc.

The seller was BP Products North America Inc., a unit of British oil and gas giant BP.

The transaction is slated to close by the end of December and follows the purchase by Couche-Tard of some stores in Ohio earlier this week.

The 26 convenience stores in Memphis currently operate under the BP banner and will continue to sell BP-branded gasoline, Couche-Tard said.

Under the deal, Circle K will buy the land and buildings for 22 locations, would lease two and the other two would be owned and operated by existing dealers.

"Strategically, these acquisitions are an excellent fit with our current network in metropolitan Memphis and nicely complements our expansion and growth plans in both the southeast Division and Memphis in particular," said Robert Campau, vice-president operations for Couche-Tard's southeast division.

"Consistent with our integration plan, we are continuing to strengthen our base operations, seizing the best expansion opportunities. Earlier this year, we acquired four independent operators in the Memphis area along key growth corridors in the city. These additional BP company-operated locations would bring our store count to 46 in the greater metropolitan area."

Overall, the company operates a network of 4,861 convenience stores, 3,035 of which include gasoline sales, in Canada and 23 U.S. states.

In addition, the company has 4,175 Circle K licensees, primarily in Asia and employs about 36,000 people.
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