Kwik Trip Takes Ownership of Stop-N-Go Chain

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Kwik Trip Inc. put its latest acquisition in the books.

The convenience store chain closed on its purchase of Madison, Wis.-based Stop-N-Go, which operates 36 Stop-N-Go c-stores in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Kwik Trip plans to continue to operate many of the acquired stores under the existing Stop-N-Go banner. The retailer will remodel and rebrand some of the larger stores as Kwik Trip, or Kwik Star in Illinois.

Duane and Olympia Bowman founded Stop-N-Go as a neighborhood grocery business in 1963. In the 1980's, Stop-N-Go underwent a strategic initiative to transform the portfolio into a c-tore chain with a fuel offering, which resulted in the closing and selling of several locations, as well as the construction of new stores.

Today, under the leadership of Andrew Bowman, president and fourth generation of family ownership, and Kevin O'Brien, chief financial officer, Stop-N-Go has continued to grow into one of the leading convenience store brands in southern Wisconsin, according to Matrix Capital Markets Group Inc.

Founded in 1965 in Eau Claire, La Crosse-based Kwik Trip owns and operates more than 750 stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Matrix provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Stop-N-Go. The transaction was managed by Vance Saunders, managing director; Spencer Cavalier, co-head of Matrix's Downstream Energy & Convenience Retail Investment Banking Group; and Martin McElroy, associate.

"Selling our business was one of the most important decisions I've had to make not only for our family, but our co-workers too. When we met with Matrix I knew they were the advisors for us, they came prepared. Matrix led us step by step through the process and made sure we were fully aware of how everything would flow," Andrew Bowman said.

"When we began talks with Kwik Trip we were able to present a 'book' to them that was clear and thorough. The professionals at Matrix are proven experts in our industry and negotiated a very strong contract. Overall, we couldn't feel better about our choice in selecting Matrix and Kwik Trip," he added.

Katrene Zelenovskiy, Daniel Kersey and Bernard Kearney of Quarles & Brady LLP served as legal counsel to Stop-N-Go.