Couche-Tard Acquires The Gas Stop Holiday Stores

LAVAL, Quebec — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.'s acquisition moves once again takes the Canadian-based retailer to the Midwest.

In its latest transaction, Couche-Tard acquired the Gas Stop Holiday fuel stations and convenience stores, which were owned by Tom and Melissa Howes, according to SiouxFalls.Business.

The transaction included all 17 Gas Stop Holiday locations owned by the Howeses in South Dakota and Minnesota. Those sites will operate as corporate stores, and all employees were offered the opportunity to keep their jobs, according to the report.

The Howeses, who owned I-90 Fuel Services Inc. and did business as The Gas Stop, were franchisees of Holiday Stationstores Inc. Couche-Tard acquired Holiday in late 2017.

The move will strengthen the company’s foothold in the region, Couche-Tard said in a statement to the news outlet.

Based in Laval, Couche-Tard's network is comprised of approximately 9,815 convenience stores throughout North America. Its North American network consists of 19 business units, including 15 in the United States covering 48 states and four in Canada covering all 10 provinces. In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics and Russia through 10 business units. Its European network comprised approximately 2,708 stores. In addition, under licensing agreements, approximately 2,280 stores are operated under the Circle K banner in 16 other countries and territories, which brings the worldwide total network to more than 14,800 stores.