3 Big Numbers is a weekly column that looks at a few key details from around the c-store industry.
Many convenience retailers are laser focused on growth. That can take on many forms. Some gobble up smaller competitors, while others take big swings, adding hundreds of stores in one go. However, growth isn't all tied to acquisitions — many focus on building their own stores from the ground up.
In today’s “3 Big Numbers,” we’re looking at two recent M&A deals as well as one company that’s focused on finding its growth organically.
$1.145 billion
The amount of money Casey’s is shelling out for CEFCO’s stores.
Casey’s General Stores announced this week that it closed its acquisition of Fike’s Wholesale, the owner of CEFCO convenience stores. That agreement, first announced in July, adds 198 new sites to Casey’s already large footprint, growing the network to around 2,900 stores.
The $1.145 billion price tag on this purchase brings Casey’s into several new states and makes a big statement about the chain’s long-term growth plans.
The acquisition also includes Fike’s fuel terminal and commissary in Texas, which provide solid infrastructure support as the retailer’s store count has ballooned in that hot market.
78%
The percent growth Nouria expects to experience once it closes its acquisition of Enmarket.
A great many M&A deals come as a surprise. While there are some negotiations that take place in public, like Alimentation Couche-Tard’s pursuit of 7-Eleven or Parkland’s overt search for a buyer for its Florida business, most are kept behind closed doors until all the details are ironed out.
So it’s not surprising that Nouria’s acquisition of Southern c-store chain Enmarket seemed to arrive out of the blue. But the sheer scale of the deal added to the surprise. Enmarket is nearly 80% of the size of Nouria, and entirely in markets where the Northeastern company doesn’t currently operate.
We’ve seen a few 100-plus-location companies make a meal of similarly sized competitors in recent years. Earlier this year we saw 160-site H&S Energy agree to acquire Andretti Petroleum Group, which is actually a little larger at 170 stores. And most notable of all was Maverik’s acquisition of Kum & Go last year. Both companies had over 400 locations at the time.
44
The number of 2024 new or refurbished Murphy USA stores currently under construction.
Murphy isn’t averse to acquisitions. Less than four years ago, it spent $645 million to buy all of QuickChek’s 157 stores in New York and New Jersey.
But lately, it’s been laser-focused on organic growth.
During its latest earnings call last week, the company noted that it’s getting faster-than-expected permitting approvals and making good headway on reaching its goal of building 50 new stores a year.
Murphy is getting really good at building and operating these new stores, company data shows. Locations that were built in 2022 and 2023 sell 18% more gallons of fuel and 27% more in merchandise than the company’s network averages.
