GPM Acquires Five More Stores for Southeast Subsidiary

RICHMOND, Va. — GPM Southeast LLC has acquired four South Carolina convenience stores that previously operated under the Crenco Food Stores banner, as well as one truck stop.

The acquired stores are all high-volume, Exxon-branded sites, with three located in Lancaster and one located in Rock Hill. The truck stop is located in Richburg.

The purchase of the c-stores, which include fuel sales, will further GPM's existing portfolio in the Southeast, the company said. As part of the deal, GPM Southeast is acquiring a fee simple interest in three of the stores, and will lease one store and the truck stop under a long-term lease agreement.

Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc. advised Crenco Food Stores Inc. and Crenshaw Oil Co. Inc. on the sale.

Harold Crenshaw Sr. formed Lancaster, S.C.-based Crenshaw Oil Co. in 1970. In 2010, Harold 'Hal' Crenshaw Jr. acquired the company from his father. The company was recently named the 2017 South Carolina Retailer of the Year by the South Carolina Association of Convenience Stores.

"We are very excited about these five Crenco Food Stores. Hal Crenshaw and his employees have been dedicated to making their customers feel like the #1 priority. We plan to continue serving their customers with the same dedication and enthusiasm," said Arie Kotler, CEO of GPM. "Bringing these employees into the GPM family was very important to our leadership team and we look forward to our continued development as we grow through acquisitions."

GPM Southeast is a subsidiary of Richmond-based GPM Investments LLC, which operates or supplies fuel to more than 1,100 stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Upon closing its deal to purchase 273 c-stores from Texarkana, Texas-based E-Z Mart Stores Inc., GPM will grow to approximately 1,400 stores in 2018.