Couche-Tard signs asset swap deal in U.S.

Trades $184.5M in convenience, gas station assets with CrossAmerica Partners

MONTREAL— Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and CrossAmerica Partners LP have signed a deal to swap convenience and gas station assets in the U.S.

Under the agreement, Couche-Tard has agreed to sell 192 U.S. convenience and fuel retail stores to CrossAmerica, with an aggregate value of about $184.5 million (U.S.).

Meanwhile, CrossAmerica has agreed to sell to Couche-Tard assets valued at $184.5 million, including the real estate property for 56 U.S. company-operated convenience and fuel retail stores leased and operated by Couche-Tard and 17 stores owned and operated by CrossAmerica in the U.S. Upper Midwest.

The deal is expected to take place through a series of transactions over a period of up to 24 months, Couche-Tard said. The closing of each transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

“We believe this transaction will be beneficial to both parties,” Couche-Tard chief executive Brian Hannasch said in a statement.

CrossAmerica Partners LP’s general partner CrossAmerica GP was until 2017 a wholly owned subsidiary of CST Brands, a fuel and convenience retailer. Couche-Tard acquired CST Brands for $4.4 billion last year, making CrossAmerica GP a wholly owned subsidiary of Couche-Tard.

Analyst Irene Nattel of RBC Dominion Securities Inc. said in an investor note that the asset swap bolsters CoucheTard’s core retail business and marks “a win-win for both sets of stakeholders.”