Kum & Go LLC, of West Des Moines, Iowa, has retained The Energy Exchange of Chicago to coordinate a sealed bid auction for 21 Kum & Go locations that don’t align with the company’s future plans, the company said.
The sealed bid auction will include 12 locations in Iowa, three in South Dakota, two in North Dakota and one each in Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.
The company began divesting itself of smaller locations outside of its core markets last August, primarily an effort to increase the number of larger Kum & Go stores. "It is our desire to consolidate and strengthen our asset base," said Kyle Krause, Kum & Go president and CEO. "The sale of these properties is a step in the right direction."
The 21-store sale is paralleled by an anticipated record number of new store builds for Kum & Go, which operates 430 stores in 12 states. In 2008, Kum & Go has already opened seven new locations in the Midwest and plans to build 27 more by the end of the year.