Fueling Up is a column from C-Store Dive offering a fresh perspective on the top news and trends in the convenience store industry.
No news coming out of the c-store industry the past few months has been bigger than Alimentation Couche-Tard’s pursuit of Seven & i Holdings. And recent updates have only fanned the flames.
Although Couche-Tard and Seven & i have teased negotiations since late last year, temperatures rose earlier this month when Seven & i named a new CEO and announced an initial public offering for 7-Eleven in North America in 2026.
Days later, Seven & i and Couche-Tard revealed that they’ve begun identifying over 2,000 overlapping c-stores they could divest — as well as pinpointing possible buyers — to avoid potential antitrust pitfalls.
I’ll bet some executives are losing sleep over the prospect of turning their companies into one of the largest North American convenience store chains overnight. Purchasing these stores would do just that.
This leaves the question: Who, if anyone, can realistically acquire these assets?
The c-store play
The thought of a well-known convenience retailer like Casey’s General Stores, GPM Investments or EG America scooping up these stores certainly excites the industry.
David Olson, managing partner with advisory firm Riata Partners, said Casey’s and Maverik are the only two c-store retailers that come to mind that would even stand a chance of acquiring these stores, since they’ve shown they’re willing to aggressively spend on expansion.
“I doubt that someone who only [operates] c-stores could buy 2,000 stores… that’s a pretty big nut to swallow unless you’ve got a diversified income stream."
Former director of foodservice at 7-Eleven
But even if Casey’s, Maverik or any other c-store retailer wanted to acquire these stores outright, the billions of dollars it would take to purchase and integrate them is far too big a challenge for one operator.
“Ain't no way,” Olson said of one c-store retailer acquiring the whole set of stores. “Between supply chains and fuel contracts and everything else, I just think it would be very, very hard.”
A former director at 7-Eleven — whose focus was running the company’s foodservice operations — concurred with Olson. The director added that if any single c-store retailer were to snag these stores, it would be a big oil company whose business focus extended beyond retail. But even then, chances are slim, they said.
This person, who also held executive foodservice roles at other c-store brands over the course of multiple decades, requested anonymity to avoid any retaliation from 7-Eleven.
“I doubt that someone who only [operates] c-stores could buy 2,000 stores… that’s a pretty big nut to swallow unless you’ve got a diversified income stream,” the former 7-Eleven director said.
If acquiring all these sites is unrealistic for one convenience retailer, what other options are on the table?
Quite a few, to my surprise.
Going private
Both Olson and the former 7-Eleven foodservice director agree that if one company were to acquire the thousands of c-stores in this deal, it would likely be a real estate investment trust or private equity firm that has the money to do so. This company would then likely sell the stores in pieces to convenience retailers.
“Some big investment portfolio umbrella will carve it off,” Olson said. “Then that firm takes over the marketplace for selling those [stores] to Casey's and Maverik and the others.”
The most recent example of a REIT investing in the c-store industry came two years ago when EG America, which operates about 1,500 c-stores across 30 states,entered into a $1.5 billion sale-leaseback deal for over 400 of its own c-stores with Realty Income Corporation. EG has continued to run these stores, although the retailer no longer owns the land.
The former 7-Eleven foodservice director said since mergers and acquisitions across all industries slowed over the past couple years, there’s tons of money available on the private equity side for a deal like this.
The numbers back this up: As of last December, private equity firms were sitting on about $2 trillion of capital that’s expected to be used towards M&A in 2025, according to a report from Global Finance Magazine.
“Convenience as a real estate play is huge… just go buy it for the land."
David Olson
Managing partner, Riata Partners
It goes without saying, but in the case of Couche-Tard trying to acquire Seven & i, selling these thousands of stores to one buyer would certainly speed up — and skyrocket the likelihood of — their merger.
“I think Couche-Tard would love it if somebody came in and bought it all up,” Olson said.
Think beyond c-stores
Whether or not a private equity firm or REIT acquires these locations, it’s worth considering if the future of these sites is outside the convenience store industry.
Olson said any type of company could be interested in these stores for one big reason.
“Convenience as a real estate play is huge… just go buy it for the land,” he said.
The former 7-Eleven foodservice director said that, while unlikely, these assets could end up in the hands of a grocery or big-box retailer looking to diversify their assets. Target or Dollar General, for instance, might crave a smaller type of store or want to offer fuel.
“I wouldn't limit the possibilities to a single channel,” the former 7-Eleven director said. “There could be strategic reasons that people would be interested that aren't traditional c-store folks.”
But why stop at grocery or big-box retailers? Any company with the scale and desire to diversify their revenue stream could pull it off as long as they raise the money quickly, 7-Eleven’s former foodservice director said, adding that they wouldn’t rule out companies like DoorDash or fast-food corporations such as Inspire Brands and Yum!
“I think it should be at least interesting to anyone that has a bunch of cash registers, whether they're ringing up Target sales or they're ringing up McDonald's sales,” the foodservice director said.
A few months ago, retailers and analysts around the industry thought this deal’s chances were slim. But given the new presidential administration’s friendly outlook towards consolidation, those feelings are starting to change.
“Last year, I would have said this will never get done,” Olson said. “Now, when I look at the current political environment… I think it gets done this year.”
