A man passes by a Couche-Tard convenience store in Montreal.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has signed separate deals through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary, Circle K Stores Inc., to acquire 36 stores in three U.S. states.
Financial details of the deals, which are expected to close in December, were not disclosed in the announcement by the Laval, Que.-based convenience store operator on Friday.
Under an agreement with Albuquerque Convenience and Retail LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips 66, it will acquire 23 stores in New Mexico. These sites are currently operated as Circle K-branded franchises. Couche-Tard's southwest division would operate all 23 under the Circle K brand and continue to offer Phillips 66-branded motor fuel.
Couche-Tard said it will buy the land and buildings for 22 locations and assume or enter into leases for the remaining locations. The other 13 stores are being acquired from Publix Super Markets Inc., 11 in Florida and the other two in Georgia.
All the sites, which are currently operated under the PIX brand and offer fuel, would be converted to the Circle K brand and sell Circle K-branded fuel. The company's Florida and southeast divisions would operate the stores, with Couche-Tard buying the land and buildings for eight locations and assuming or entering into leases for the others.
As of July 21, Couche-Tard's network was comprised of 6,198 convenience stores throughout Canada and the U.S., including 4,678 stores selling fuel.
In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia, Poland, the Baltics and Russia with 2,287 stores, the majority of which offer fuel and convenience products.
It also has licensing agreements for about 4,200 stores operated under the Circle K banner in a number of countries in Asia as well as in the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Honduras.