TA Acquires Additional C-Stores in Missouri, Kansas
WESTLAKE, Ohio — TravelCenters of America LLC (TA) has announced it has completed its previously disclosed acquisitions of convenience stores located throughout Missouri and Kansas, saying “36 stores were acquired today.”
The company did not name the seller or sellers from whom it acquired the locations.
TA has begun to operate all of the acquired stores, it said.
The company said it expects that it will rebrand these 36 convenience stores as Minit Mart convenience stores and the sites will undergo improvements in the coming months.
The acquisition continues TA’s strategy to expand its convenience-store network.
In August, it acquired 21 Thoroughbred Energy-branded c-stores in Kentucky from Traxx Cos. and expects to acquire 13 additional principally leased locations upon the seller satisfying certain closing conditions.
Earlier in August, the company completed its acquisition of 33 c-stores in northern Illinois with the purchase of MKM Oil Co.’s Fast N Fresh chain.
These deals are part of TA’s previously disclosed acquisitions of 124 c-stores for about $230 million in six separate transactions between August and the end of the year, with additional transactions in the works.
“Our convenience-store portfolio will have grown from 34 locations principally in one state at the beginning of the year to over 200 locations in 11 principally Midwest states,” CEO Thomas O’Brien said during the company’s recent earnings call.
TA began its expansion into the convenience-store space when it purchased 31 Minit Mart stores in the Bowling Green, Ky., in 2013 for $67 million.
During first-quarter 2015, TA acquired two travel centers, including one the company previously operated under a management agreement, for $8.4 million, and 26 convenience stores for $38.7 million, in three separate transactions including 19 Best Oil Little Stores, mostly in Minnesota. Additionally, during second-quarter 2015, it acquired 19 convenience stores principally in Kansas and Missouri from Overland Park, Kansas-based GasMart USA for $27 million.
TravelCenters of America is based in Westlake, Ohio, and operates in 43 states and Canada under the Minit Mart, TA and Petro Stopping Centers brands. Its business includes 406 convenience stores, including 256 which are located at travel centers.
