Convenience-store giant pushes into U.S. with $4.4-billion deal
MONTREAL — Alimentation Couche-Tard, already among the largest conveniencestore operators in North America, announced a $4.4-billion US friendly acquisition Monday that would significantly expand its presence south of the border.
The Quebec-based company that owns the Mac’s and Couche-Tard convenience store chains said it was buying CST Brands, which is headquartered in San Antonio and has more than 2,000 stores in the U.S. and Eastern Canada.
Brian Hannasch, CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard, told analysts on a conference call that CST Brands fills a few gaps in his company’s U.S. retail operations. “It gives us an entry into Texas, a market that we’ve been focused on penetrating for the last three or four years,” Hannasch said.
The deal, which includes assumed debt, would also add 165 sites in Georgia and north Florida, “largely filling out a geographic void we have in the U.S. Southeast” and strengthen Alimentation Couche-Tard’s footprint in Arizona and Colorado, he added.
Alimentation Couche-Tard, based in Laval, Que., said it would pay $48.53 US cash per share of CST Brands, the fourthlargest operator of convenience stores in the U.S. CST shares were trading about a dollar below that level Monday.
In a related announcement, Alimentation Couche-Tard would then sell most of CST’s business in Canada, including rights to use the Ultramar brand, to Parkland Fuel Corp. of Red Deer, Alta., for $965 million Cdn.
Both deals are subject to approval by the federal Competition Bureau.