Does this mean slurpies in more places? The owner of 7-Eleven, Seven & i Holdings, has purchased the Speedway chain of gas stations from Marathon Petroleum for $21 billion. The sale is one of the biggest deals that has gone down since the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the economic fortunes of businesses worldwide.
The all-cash deal joins the two convenience store brands with other Seven & i Holdings properties, primarily based in the grocery sector. The company is the largest convenience store chain in Japan, owning 21,000 stores in the Asian country. They also own 9,800 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
The acquisition adds 4,000 Speedway stores fo the company’s portfolio.Photo courtesy of Speedway
By picking up the Speedway chain of stores, Seven & i Holdings expands their footprint to include an additional 4,000 stores, giving the company a presence in 47 of the top 50 most populated areas in the U.S., the company said in a press release announcing the deal.
7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto explained that the deal will allow the company to diversify its holdings in key regions of the country, “particularly in the Midwest and East Coast.”
In Japan, convenience stores are located apart from gas stations. This is also true of many communities in the Eastern U.S. However, in the Midwest and beyond, convenience stores are most often associated with a gas station.
As part of the deal, Marathon will provide 7.7 billion gallons of petroleum a year for 15 years to Seven & i Holdings. Marathon has been struggling in the wake of low gas prices, announcing last week that it will not restart production at refineries in New Mexico and California that had been idled since April.
The two companies had been negotiating the sale for months, struggling to come to an agreement over the price.
