Dive Brief:

• Casey’s General Stores has acquired 11 EZ GO stores in Nebraska and Oklahoma from Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores, according to a news report from ABC affiliate KSWO in Oklahoma.
• These stores were part of a group of 22 sites that Love’s purchased from Carey Johnson Oil Company in April. 
• This acquisition comes less than a month after Casey’s acquired 22 Lone Star Food Marts in Texas, introducing the convenience retailer and its famous pizza to Texas for the first time.

Dive Insight:

Casey’s purchase of these EZ GO sites expands its presence in Nebraska and Oklahoma, and helps it move toward its goal of adding 350 stores by 2026. M&A plays a big part in this strategy, as Casey’s executives noted in September during the company’s earnings call. At that time, the company expected to add “at least” 150 stores by the end of 2024, thanks in large part to the acquisition of 89 stores from EG America.

With this latest deal, Casey’s has acquired more than 120 stores in 2023 alone. 

“Our balance sheet remains in excellent condition and we have ample financial flexibility,” said Casey’s CEO Darren Rebelez during the company’s earnings call in September.

A Casey’s spokesperson said some of these locations will begin offering Casey’s pizza and foodservice later this month. Plans for other sites are still being evaluated. 

Love’s, meanwhile, has been rebranding the 11 travel stops along turnpikes in Kansas and Oklahoma that it purchased in that deal, according to local reports. The acquisition gave the travel stop company its first locations along turnpikes, and helped it toward its goal of 25 new stores by the end of the year. 

Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s operates more than 2,500 c-stores in 16 states. Oklahoma City-based Love’s owns more than 610 locations in 42 states, as well as 430 truck repair locations, and has more than 39,000 employees.