Eye On Growth

• Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is entering Europe by acquiring Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA for $2.67 billion. According to Couche-Tard, there are many reasons why it sought to purchase Statoil, including gaining a convenience store foothold in Scandinavia, eastern Europe, and central European countries such as Russia and Poland.
• Casey's General Stores Inc. will break ground on its first Tennessee store next month. The Dyersburg location will mark the 13th state in Casey's area of operation.
• TravelCenters of America LLC (TA) purchased six travel centers during its 2012 fiscal first quarter and is in discussions to potentially buy an additional half-dozen, according to CEO Thomas O'Brien. TA spent $26 million to purchase the six properties.
• Tesoro Corp. completed its purchase of 49 Albertson's Fuel Express retail stations from Supervalu Inc. The convenience stores with gas are located in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. Tesoro spent $37 million in its fiscal first quarter to close the transaction.

On May 1, Phillips 66 officially spun off from its former parent company, ConocoPhillips Inc. The new Houston-based business now trades as an independent company under the symbol PSX on the New York Stock Exchange and is responsible for all of ConocoPhillips' former downstream assets, including the thousands of branded marketer sites. Phillips 66 executives told Convenience Store News that retailers sporting the Phillips 66, 76 and Conoco fuel banners can expect to see an even heavier focus on loyalty programs and related services now that the long-awaited spinoff has been completed.