Casey’s buying Omaha convenience store chain Deal will add 94 stores, real estate for expansion

Ankeny-based Casey's General Stores is buying Buchanan Energy, the Omaha, Neb., owner of Bucky's Convenience Stores, primarily located in Illinois and Nebraska.

The $580 million all-cash transaction includes 94 retail stores and 79 dealer locations, as well as multiple parcels of real estate for future new store construction.

The acquisition will increase the company's footprint to more than 2,300 stores in 16 states.

The purchase includes tax benefits valued at $80 million for a net after-tax purchase price of $500 million.

Casey's will finance the transaction with a combination of cash on hand, revolving credit and bank financing.

Publicly traded Casey's, founded more than 50 years ago, is the fourth-largest convenience store retailer in the United States.

Buchanan Energy and Bucky's were started as a family-owned and operated business in 1980.

The transaction also will include a dealer network of stores where Casey's will manage fuel supply agreements to these stores.

Casey's expects the deal to close by the end of this year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.