COUCHE-TARD GETS OK TO BUY CST
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy rival CST Brands Inc. on condition that it sell up to 71 stores in eight states, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday, Reuters reports. Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Montrealbased chain of convenience stores and gas stations, said in August that it would buy the smaller CST, which has the Corner Store markets, for some US$4.4 billion. As of late January, Couche-Tard had 8,081 convenience stores in North America, including 6,710 which sold fuel, the company said. The FTC required the companies to sell 70 fuel stations with convenience stores to Empire Petroleum Partners in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas, the agency said. Empire also has the option to buy a gas station in Albany, Ga., the FTC said, according to Reuters.