Victory Petroleum, 7-Eleven Pick Up ExxonMobil Stores

Chains acquire stores as part of the ExxonMobil transition out of the direct-served business

Locally headquartered Victory Petroleum is poised to grow with the acquisition of 41 ExxonMobil locations. The company anticipates the deal will close early this year, Ibis Rebull, financial comptroller for Victory Petroleum, told Convenience Store News. The acquisition price for the sites across Miami-Dade County was not disclosed. It is too early in the deal for Victory Petroleum to detail long-term plans for the locations, but "going forward, it will be business as usual," Rebull explained, adding that all the convenience stores/gas stations will retain the Mobil brand.

"This is an opportunity for growth and the Mobil brand is a very sophisticated brand," Rebull said. "The stores are immaculate and this is a great opportunity." And while Rebull did not say if Victory Petroleum has any other acquisition deals in the works, she did say the company is "always looking for new opportunities to grow." This is the second ExxonMobil deal in Florida that made headlines last month. The first was when 7-Eleven Inc. agreed to acquire ExxonMobil's retail interests in 183 Florida sites, the company reported. The transaction is also anticipated to close early this year, subject to standard closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Included in the acquisition is a combination of company- and dealer-operated sites located in Orlando, Southwest Florida, Palm Beach and Broward County. The 183 sites include five unused parcels of land. The majority of locations will be rebranded as 7-Eleven operations, and all will retain the Mobil gasoline brand, allowing customers to continue to purErtonMobil chase Mobil-brand fuel and use the ExxonMobil credit card, the company reported.

"This acquisition fits well with our aggressive growth strategy," Sean Duffy, 7-Eleven vice president of mergers and acquisitions said in a released statement. "This purchase of these ExxonMobil sites adds to the approximately 750 locations that 7-Eleven has acquired or added since 2007 when we ramped up our expansion efforts."

After the transaction closes 7-Eleven will begin remodeling and reimaging the locations, with work anticipated to be completed over a two-year period. Each location will carry 7-Eleven signature products, such as Slurpee and Big Gulp beverages, fresh food and grill offerings, along with standard convenience-store items.

"The high-volume locations complement our existing real estate portfolio in Florida," Duffy said. "The combination of the 7-Eleven and Mobil brands and the addition of so many 7-Eleven outlets in high-traffic locations will make a compelling retail offering for convenience-oriented consumers."

7-Eleven will extend employment offers to all of the approximately 1,300 impacted ExxonMobil employees upon successful completion of their pre-employment screening process and continued satisfactory performance, according to the retailer.

It had been two years since the company announced its intent to transition out of the direct-served retail business in the U.S., converting the majority of its markets to branded wholesaler, and the company says the process is going even better than expected.

ExxonMobil is in the midst of selling roughly 2,200 company-and dealer-operated sites to branded wholesalers, with long-term fuel contracts for its Exxon and Mobil brands. About 800 of the locations have been sold to date.

In selling off its sites, ExxonMobil is shifting its focus from the backcourt to the forecourt — with an emphasis on strengthening its value proposition to branded wholesalers.