Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Convenience Store Decisions 2007 Convenience Store Chain of the Year, reached a deal through its Mac’s Convenience Stores subsidiary to acquire 15 units in central Illinois from Speedway SuperAmerica. The deal is expected close by the end of April, the companies said.

Couche-Tard, which has been rumored to be nearing a much larger deal that could net as many as 200 stores, estimates that these acquisitions would contribute positively to its earnings on an annualized basis. According to a confidentiality agreement between the parties, the purchase price cannot be disclosed at this time. Internal available cash dollars will pay for the transaction.

The 15 convenience stores currently operate under the Speedway banner and are all company operated. The stores would be converted to the Marathon fuel brand and would be operated by the Circle K Midwest Division under Couche-Tard’s Circle K banner. As part of the deal, Couche-Tard is acquiring the land and buildings for 14 locations and would assume the third-party lease for the other location.

The deal increases to 354 the number of stores in Circle K’s Midwest Division, all of which are company operated.

"These 15 stores are located on highly visible and well-traveled roads and occupy strategic locations within their respective trade areas," said Darrell Davis, vice president operations for Circle K’s Midwest Division. "n addition, these sites are well operated and have a strong management team in place. Strategically, this acquisition is an excellent fit with our network and complement our expansion and growth plans for the Midwest Division."

Couche-Tard currently operates a network of 5,690 convenience stores, 3,440 of which include fuel operations, in the U.S. and Canada.