Atlas Oil Co., a Taylor, Mich.-based fuel marketer, has acquired five convenience stores in Battle Creek, Mich., from R&J Inc. and has folded that company into its own retail segment. The transaction essentially buys out the ownership stake of R&J partners Richard Folk and John Reed, and all remaining employees at the five stations.
"We previously had three stations on the western side of Michigan, and this expands our presence in a market where we have already wanted to grow," said Michael Evans, executive vice president for business development at Atlas. "We had one of our stations that was fairly close to theirs. The others are elsewhere in the state and not in competition."
All five Citgo stations, which earned a combined $20 million in revenue last year, will be rebranded to BP by the end of February. The company also rebranded two other stores as part of a branding agreement with BP America.
Atlas followed with the R&J acquisition by acquiring four stores in the Detroit market from Romulus, Mich.-based Fusion Oil Co. and will also fly the BP fuel banner, Evans said.
On the fuel distribution side, Atlas reached a multimillion-dollar supply agreement with Dallas-based Dean Foods. As part of the deal, Atlas will supply Dean’s commercial fuel business in the Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas markets.
Atlas owns 44 stores and is the chief gasoline supplier to more than 300 retail outlets in 10 states, as well as being a regional ground fuels supplier to FedEx Corp. and several trucking companies. The company is also the franchisor of Fast Track, its own retail brand of gas stations in the Midwest.