Thursday, January 15, 2026
Convenience Store Industry M&A Review and Outlook: 2025
Source: NRC Realty & Capital Advisors
By Dennis L Ruben, Executive Managing Director, NRC Realty & Capital AdvisorsIntroduction
The year 2025 will probably best be remembered for what it wasn’t—an active year in terms of merger and acquisition activity. The potential acquisition of Seven and i Holdings Co., Ltd. by Alimentation Couche-Tard, which had been in the works since 2024, captured much of the attention and headlines over the last 12 to 18 months. However, those discussions came to an abrupt end in July, when Couche-Tard formally withdrew its offer. Shortly thereafter, Seven and i reaffirmed its intention to file an IPO for 7-Eleven Inc. in North America and also stated its intention to build 1,300 new stores in North America by 2030. 7-Eleven will see new leadership in 2026 as it pursues its new objectives.
However, there were still some significant transactions which took place last year. Perhaps the largest was Sunoco LP’s acquisition of Parkland Corp. for $9.1 billion. Sunoco had been pursuing Parkland for quite some time and finally prevailed. The transaction, which closed in late October, enabled Sunoco to become the largest independent fuel distributor in the Americas. Another large transaction was Anabi Oil’s acquisition of Green Valley Grocery’s chain of 87 convenience stores in southern Nevada. Perhaps the most surprising acquisition of the year was RaceTrac’s acquisition of Potbelly Corp. for $566 million. That transaction of a large restaurant chain demonstrates the importance of food service to the convenience store industry, and represented an acknowledgment by RaceTrac of the benefits and synergies that could be realized from such a combination. It will be interesting to see how RaceTrac grows the Potbelly chain and whether it decides to integrate Potbelly sandwich offerings into its convenience store network.
The remaining transactions which were publicly reported last year were relatively small by comparison to the deals which were completed over the previous two or three years. There are probably several factors that explain this. First of all, some transactions simply do not get reported in the trade press. Secondly, there are simply not that many large chains remaining to be acquired after the wave of M&A activity that occurred previously. Finally, many operators we know have been extremely pleased with their operations and financial performance and don’t appear to be in any hurry to exit the industry. Several operators have either family members in the business or experienced professional managers, and seem to be more focused on growing their businesses rather than selling them. The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Tax Bill also provided significant incentives for growth in the convenience store industry by providing 100% year one depreciation of qualified property such as c-stores acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. In addition, fuel margin in 2025 was one of the highest on record, and similar to the prior year, but volumes have been down in most parts of the country. However, inside sales, and especially food service, remain extremely strong and a vital component of the equation for successful convenience stores.
Political and Economic Factors
A number of political and economic factors are directly affecting the convenience store industry. The broad array of tariffs which have been imposed on imported goods of all types has made many things more expensive, and some of those costs are being passed on to consumers. The Federal Reserve reduced interest rates three times during the latter half of 2025, and there is pressure to reduce them further. These reductions have resulted in lower borrowing costs across the board. Fuel prices at the pump have been at some of their lowest levels in years for many parts of the country, and industry analysts have predicted that average retail gasoline prices will stay below $3 per gallon for each of the next two years, which will likely lead to increased fuel volumes in the future.
On the international front, the war in Ukraine rages on and the conflict in the Middle East continues. There are new threats from Iran and other countries, and the United States continues to look over its shoulder at China and Russia. The recent capture and arrest of Venezuela’s President, and the accompanying U.S. strikes on vessels and oil tankers in the Caribbean, have increased uncertainty. Flooding the U.S. with Venezuelan oil has already had a negative effect on domestic production in the Permian basin and the Dakotas. The administration has stated that U.S. firms would develop Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and recoup stolen oil company money. However, experts have noted that rebuilding their oil infrastructure would require a long-term investment of billions of dollars. It remains to be seen how the drama in Venezuela will play out.
AI seems to dominate the news everywhere and tech stocks are the current darling of Wall Street. Convenience store operators are spending time and resources to determine how to integrate AI into their operations in positive ways. The push for EVs during the previous administration has all been abandoned, and car makers and politicians alike have come to realize that it is virtually impossible to force people to change their preferences in automobiles—Americans still love their gasoline powered cars. More importantly, everyone learned fairly quickly that the technology and infrastructure had not kept pace with the EV initiatives that politicians and car makers alike were pushing. As long as oil is relatively plentiful and available at reasonable prices, and there are no tax incentives for purchasing EVs, they will not be an attractive option for the majority of consumers. Weight loss drugs, or GLP-1, have been a major “game changer” for the convenience store industry. The advent of highly effective weight loss drugs has changed the landscape for food offerings at both restaurants and convenience stores. Because of these drugs, people are eating less and are much more selective about the types of foods they eat. The restaurant industry has had to adapt quickly to those changes in demand, and the convenience store industry will need to do so as well.
Purchase Price Multiple Trends
Since the majority of transactions which occurred last year were between private companies, purchase price multiples were not reported publicly. However, NRC is aware of a number of other private transactions which were not reported in the trade press. For example, NRC was involved in a couple of transactions last year in the western part of the United States, both of which involved in excess of 10 stores. Both transactions were at or near double-digit multiples based on store-level EBITDA. In addition, one of them did not include any real estate as part of the transaction. From what we have heard anecdotally, some of the other reported transactions from last year also were in the high single-digit and low double-digit multiple ranges. Furthermore, the 100% bonus deprecation for qualified convenience store property contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill has provided a significant boost to those looking to make acquisitions or build new stores. These trends bode well for a vibrant and positive environment for M&A activity in the future. However, as mentioned earlier, there are simply not as many large players left in the industry, and as a result, the universe of potential acquirers gets smaller each year. However, private equity is still highly interested in the industry and there are also some other new players who are not currently in the industry that are looking to enter.
Significant M&A Transactions
Sunoco LP. In May, Sunoco LP announced that it planned to buy Parkland Corp. for $9.1 billion in a combination of cash and equity. Parkland was the second largest convenience store operator in Canada, with 650 retail outlets and 1,830 dealer sites. The company also operated about 122 retail locations in the United States and another 128 across Canada and the Caribbean, and had numerous terminals and a refinery in Burnaby, British Columbia. As a result, Sunoco now has about 320 company-operated c-stores across North America, including about 200 in the United States. The transaction closed on October 31st, making Sunoco the largest independent fuel distributor in the Americas.
RaceTrac Inc. RaceTrac Inc. made major headlines last year by announcing that it had acquired Potbelly Corp. for $566 million. The transaction included 445 company- and franchisee-owned Potbelly sandwich shops across the United States. In announcing the acquisition, RaceTrac stated that the acquisition represented a natural evolution of the company’s growth strategy, adding fast-casual expertise to its portfolio while maintaining the unique identity that makes Potbelly special. It remains to be seen whether RaceTrac intends to incorporate Potbelly offerings into its convenience stores or merely to grow the brand as stand alone restaurants.
Anabi Oil Corporation. In October, Anabi Oil Corp., which owns Rebel convenience stores, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Green Valley Grocery, consisting of 87 Green Valley Grocery convenience stores across southern Nevada. The Green Valley Grocery chain was founded in 1978 by Richard Crawford and he was able to grow it significantly over the next five decades. Anabi Oil indicated that it intended to retain the Green Valley Grocery name as well as the Rebel name at the stores’ respective locations, and that the combined network would drive innovation, expand loyalty programs and create efficiencies that would position the business to honor Green Valley Grocery’s legacy while investing in the future. In December, Anabi Oil announced that it had purchased 12 convenience stores in California’s Tri-Valley and Lake Tahoe communities from C&J Cox Corp. The stores operate under the Cox Family Stores brand.
Circle K Stores Inc. Early in the year, Circle K Stores Inc. closed on the purchase of 20 convenience stores and travel centers in Oklahoma and Kansas from Hutchinson Oil Co. Inc. In April, Circle K acquired two stores in North Dakota from Dusterhoft Family Stores. In June, Couche-Tard closed on the acquisition of its $1.57 billion acquisition of GetGo Café + Market, consisting of about 270 GetGo and WetGo locations, from Giant Eagle Inc. In connection with that acquisition, Couche-Tard was required to divest 35 gas stations in order to resolve FTC antitrust concerns. Those locations were sold to Majors Management LLC.
Casey’s General Stores Inc. Casey’s General Stores Inc. completed a number of smaller acquisitions in 2025 compared to the very large CEFCO transaction it completed in 2024. Casey’s purchased seven convenience stores, one travel center and four liquor stores in central Kentucky from Wow! Foodmart LLC. Later in the year, Casey’s acquired four Kum & Go stores in South Dakota from Maverik as well as two stores in Iowa. Finally, Casey’s purchased several convenience stores and travel centers in Minnesota and South Dakota from Minnesota-based United Fuels Midwest as part of a complete divestiture by United Fuels.
Other Notable M&A Transactions
Balkar Management Group. Balkar Management group acquired 13 gas stations located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and one bulk fuel terminal from Consumers Oil Corp. About one-half of the locations include a convenience store and a few have car washes.
Blarney Castle Oil. Blarney Castle Oil Co. acquired the petroleum marketing and convenience retail business of Pri Mar Petroleum Inc. Michigan-based Pri Mar operated 13 Pri Mart convenience stores and supplied 12 wholesale dealers in southwestern Michigan, selling fuels under the bp, Amoco and CITGO brands. In a separate transaction, Merle Boes Inc. acquired Pri Mar’s delivered fuels and lubricants business, consisting of the delivery of commercial fuels, heating oil and lubricants to more than 2,000 customers. Brew LLC. Brew LLC acquired 13 convenience stores and one smoke shop and liquor store from Iowa-based Danlee Corp. Most of the stores were in and around central Iowa. Brew has 36 locations, including some travel centers, in Iowa and Kansas.
Farmers Co-op Oil Co of Renville, Minnesota. Energy cooperative Farmers Co-op Oil Co. purchased 10 Cenex-branded FillMeUp convenience stores in western Minnesota from Pileup LLC.
Gill Energy. Gill Energy acquired Dutchess Terminals Inc., consisting of 13 convenience stores in New York and numerous wholesale fuel accounts. The sale also included a fleet of fuel delivery vehicles.
Jacksons Food Stores Inc. Jacksons Food Stores acquired the convenience assets of Redwood Oil Co. Inc. California-based Redwood Oil operated 23 Redwood Market convenience stores in northern California that offer the Aztec Grill proprietary food offering. The transaction also included one ExtraMile c-store in Cotari, California.
The Kent Cos. The Kent Cos. acquired 15 Chevron-branded convenience stores from Louisiana-based B&B Petroleum. This acquisition marked Kent’s entrance into its ninth state, Louisiana. Kent intends to convert the stores to its Kent Kwik brand. As a result of the transaction, The Kent Cos. now has 130 company-owned convenience stores and travel centers across nine states, and it supplies fuel to more than 150 dealer sites in six states.
Mega Saver. In two separate transactions, Mega Saver, based in Omaha, Nebraska, purchased a total of 23 Kum & Go convenience stores in Iowa and Nebraska from Maverik. In addition, Mega Saver announced that it has agreed to acquire 22 c-stores in Iowa and 7 stores in Kansas from Yesway.
Nouria Energy. Massachusetts-based Nouria Energy completed its acquisition of Enmarket convenience stores from the Colonial Group Inc. The transaction consisted of 133 Enmarket locations and 25 car washes, and expanded Nouria’s footprint to the Southeast region of the United States. Nouria operates 186 convenience stores, 64 carwash locations and a wholesale fuel distribution network with branded dealers throughout the Northeast.
Poppy Markets LLC. California-based Poppy Markets LLC acquired the petroleum marketing and convenience store business of Engineer’s Associates Inc. and its affiliates, doing business as National Petroleum, consisting of a chain of 11 convenience stores and retail fuel outlets and a wholesale fuel distribution business. Poppy is owned by Vintners Distributors/Loop Neighborhood Market.
Sampson-Bladen Oil Co. Inc. North Carolina-based Sampson-Bladen Oil Co. acquired 15 Breeze Thru Markets convenience stores from Cary Oil Co. With this acquisition, Sampson-Bladen’s store count increased to 125 stores in North Carolina.
Conclusion
Although 2025 was not as active as the previous several years in terms of M&A activity, we have observed an uptick in small to medium size transactions involving 10 to 25 stores. Many of the larger chains have elected to optimize their portfolios by selling off individual stores or markets that were not profitable or didn’t make sense for other reasons. As discussed earlier, many of the transactions involving the largest remaining chains already took place over the past couple of years. Most of the larger remaining chains all seem to be pursuing growth strategies based on both organic growth and acquisitions, while a few of the other large chains have historically been more focused on growth solely through new store development. Based on the activity over the past few years, it appears likely that these trends will continue for the foreseeable future. However, the extremely favorable environment for our industry, such as strong fuel margins, dynamic inside sales growth due primarily to food service initiatives, and high purchase price multiples, coupled with lower interest rates and favorable tax treatment for newly acquired c-stores, should cause more owners and operators to give serious consideration to a sale of all or some portion of their businesses, especially those legacy owners without younger generation family members to take over the business. With all of these factors coalescing right now, it will be interesting to see how all of this plays out this year.