Marathon's NOCO Express Acquisition Includes Terminal

FINDLAY, Ohio — Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s (MPC) purchase of the NOCO Express convenience store chain through its retail subsidiary Speedway LLC now includes a 900,000-barrel capacity light product and asphalt terminal in Buffalo, N.Y.

"This acquisition supports MPC's Midwest product placement strategy and builds upon prior investments, including Speedway's acquisition of 78 Express Mart locations in western New York, to maximize our refinery utilization," said MPC Chairman and CEO Gary R. Heminger. "The terminal is well positioned to receive supply from the Midwest, Canada or the New York Harbor via multiple supply routes, including pipeline, truck, rail or waterborne vessels, and deliver our products in this attractive new market."

Marathon will acquire 33 NOCO Express stores and rebrand them under the Speedway banner, as Convenience Store News previously reported. Six NOCO Express stores are not included in the deal.

"We are excited to continue our growth into western New York," said Speedway President Tony Kenney. "The NOCO Express stores have been very well managed and maintained, and will complement our expanding presence in this region. We look forward to further bringing the Speedway brand to even more consumers in the Buffalo region."

The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals, customary due diligence and other closing conditions.

Headquartered in Tonawanda, NOCO Express operates 39 convenience stores throughout western New York. It is a division of NOCO Energy Corp., which will retain its energy services business.

Findlay-based MPC is a leading integrated downstream energy company, which operates the nation's largest refining system with more than 3 million barrels per day of crude oil capacity across 16 refineries. MPC's marketing system includes approximately 7,800 branded locations across the U.S., including approximately 5,600 Marathon-brand retail outlets.

Speedway LLC, an MPC subsidiary, owns and operates approximately 4,000 retail convenience stores across the U.S.