Speedway Buying Gas City Sites

Ohio company purchasing most locations; Couche-Tard, TA, 7-Eleven, others, pick up rest Apr. 13, 2011

CHICAGO -- Gas station chain Speedway LLC will buy most of Gas City's sites in the Chicago area, according to documents in Gas City's bankruptcy case cited by The Southtown Star. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. also will pick up a handful of stores. Speedway, a subsidiary of Findlay, Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum Co. LP, the downstream spinoff of Marathon Oil Corp., Houston, will pay more than $70 million for 27 stations, the report said.

"Speedway, among other companies, has placed a bid for the properties.... However, until the legal process is complete, we are [image-nocss] unable to comment any further," a Marathon Petroleum spokesperson told CSP Daily News.

Gas City, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last October, held an auction earlier this month for its 50 stations in Illinois, Indiana, Arizona and Florida. Major bidders had included Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard, which owns the Circle K chain in the United States, as well as truckstop chain owner TravelCenters of America (TA). (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage. And click here for additional coverage of Gas City.)

Frankfort, Ill.-based Gas City originally had an agreement to sell 46 of its stations to Couche-Tard, but that company ended up with just five outlets at the auction, according to the Star. It is getting Gas City stations in Monee, Orland Hills and Palos Park, Ill.

Westlake, Ohio-based TA is buying Gas City stores in Indiana as well as a station in Monee; Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. is buying another Gas City in Monee, said the report.

On Thursday, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Chicago will decide whether to approve the sale of those stations, added a report by The Mokena Patch. After that, Gas City will work with the individual buyers to close the sales of the properties.

Click herefor a full list of buyers, sites and prices.

Separately, William A. McEnery, son of Gas City founder William J. McEnery, emerged as the winning bidder for seven The Creamery ice cream shops, most of which are near Gas City stations, the Star said. He bid $3.26 million for the stores, according to a court filing cited by the paper. William J. McEnery started Gas City with a single station on Chicago's Southwest Side. When the trust that owns the stations filed for bankruptcy last fall, it listed liabilities in excess of $100 million, said the report.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.