DALLAS — 7-Eleven is buying 1,110 convenience stores, mostly on the East Coast and in Texas, from Sunoco in a deal valued at $3.3 billion.
The deal puts 7-Eleven in the Houston market and gives it a fully developed menu of tacos.
It’s one of the largest purchases ever made by 7-Eleven and gets Sunoco, which said it wants to focus on being a gasoline supplier, out of the retail business.
7-Eleven, headquartered outside Dallas, also is buying the trademarks of the Laredo Taco Co. and Stripes. The largest U.S. convenience store chain also entered into a 15-year agreement to purchase 2.2 billion gallons of gasoline from Sunoco annually.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017.
7-Eleven, which has been building its fresh food offerings in recent years, is gaining a new menu of breakfast and lunch tacos with Laredo Taco. A new Stripes store in the Texas city of Corpus Christie, illustrative of the upgrade, has a dining area with 28 seats and an outdoor patio with 20 more, far different from the traditional 2,500-square-foot 7-Eleven.
“This acquisition supports our growth strategy in key geographic areas including Florida, mid-Atlantic states, Northeast states and Central Texas,” said Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven CEO, in a news release.
“It also provides 7-Eleven entry into Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States, and a strong presence in Corpus Christi and across South Texas.”
About 200 convenience stores in North and West Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma will be sold separately, Sunoco said in a news release. Sunoco LP is a master limited partnership that supplies 7,845 convenience stores, independent dealers, commercial customers and distributors in 30 states. Its parent company is Dallas-based Energy Transfer Equity.
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7-Eleven has grown from 29,000 worldwide stores in 2006 to 61,500 in 2016. U.S. store count increased over the past decade from 5,500 to 8,900.
This acquisition will bring 7-Eleven’s total number of stores to 9,815 in the United States and Canada.
Last year, 7-Eleven’s combined U.S. and Canada sales were estimated at $25 billion, with 60 percent or $15 billion coming from inside the store and 40 percent from gasoline pumps, according to recently published list of top food retailers from Supermarket News.
Worldwide 2016 sales exceeded $89 billion.