Stewart’s Shops has struck a deal to acquire Jolley Associates in another example of the change and consolidation sweeping the U.S. convenience store sector.
Malta, New York-based Stewart’s on Friday said it had signed an agreement to purchase Jolley, a chain of 45 stores that includes five locations in New York, two in New Hampshire and 38 in Vermont.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The acquisition, which requires federal regulatory approval, is expected to close by the end of the year.
Both, Stewart's, and Jolley, which is headquartered in St. Albans, Vermont, are family-owned convenience store operators. Stewart's has 360 stores across upstate New York and western Vermont.
There's been a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the convenience store retail real estate sector as some operators take that route to expand. For example, 7-Eleven, owned by the Japanese company Seven & I Holdings, in April acquired 204 stores owned by Sunoco that operate under the Stripes and Laredo Taco banners for about $1 billion. Then in August, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent of Circle K and On the Run, made an unsolicited $38.5 billion offer for 7-Eleven, although it was rejected.
Footprint expansion
But Couche-Tard has in fact made other acquisitions. Most recently, the same day it announced its bid for 7-Eleven, it also said it had agreed to buy GetGo, the convenience store division of supermarket chain Giant Eagle. GetGo has roughly 270 stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. And nearly a year ago SQRL, a gas station and convenience store operator, acquired 210 new locations.
On top of that activity, convenience store chains such as Wawa and Buc-ee's have been expanding into more states by rolling out new locations.
Jolley was founded 50 years ago by brothers Bruce and Robert Jolley.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to acquire a company with such an impressive reputation in a market that we’ve been watching for many years,” Stewart’s President Gary Dake said in a statement.
Stewart’s, a family- and employee-owned business, was launched in 1945.
In a statement, Bruce Jolley said he was happy that Stewart’s is providing his employees an opportunity to have ownership in the business.
Stewart's will also be acquiring Jolley's S.B. Collins, a gasoline and diesel provider, and its heating and oil business, Clarence Brown, as part of the deal.