(Montreal) Alimentation Couche-Tard has signed an agreement to buy 112 gas stations and convenience stores from MAPCO Express in the United States.
The deal, unveiled late Thursday evening, is conditional on a separate transaction that will see MAPCO and its other sites acquired by Majors Management LLC.
The establishments purchased by the Quebec company are mainly in Tennessee and Alabama, but also in Kentucky and Georgia. “We are thrilled to add MAPCO’s high-quality sites to our presence in the southeastern United States,” said Alex Miller, Couche-Tard’s chief operating officer, in a statement.
MAPCO owns most of the real estate assets where the establishments it sells to Couche-Tard are operated. None of the 112 stores are franchised. The transaction also includes “surplus goods” and a logistics fleet.
Couche-Tard did not disclose financial details of the transaction. Analyst Vishal Shreedhar, from Financière Banque Nationale, estimates the value of the acquisition at between 500 and 600 million US. “This is a small transaction for Couche-Tard and we estimate it will add approximately 1% to earnings per share. »
Although this is a relatively small transaction for a company the size of Couche-Tard, the acquisition is in a promising segment, believes analyst Irene Nattel of RBC Capital Markets. “It strengthens its network with high-quality sites in the American market, its most important, where Couche-Tard has the best opportunities to create synergies. »
The multinational, which is based in Laval, expects the transaction to be finalized in the second half of calendar year 2023.
Earlier in March, Couche-Tard announced a €4.5 billion acquisition in Europe to get its hands on 2,193 TotalEnergies service stations. The transaction, which is expected to close at the end of calendar year 2023, will allow it to break into new territories in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Mr. Shreedhar estimates that Couche-Tard’s debt will reach 2.15 times earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITDA) after the recently announced transactions. Management is aiming for a ratio of 2.25 times.
The stock price remained relatively stable, up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $67.59 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday afternoon.