INDIANAPOLIS -- A substantial number of convenience stores in the Indianapolis market may soon be wearing a new face. CSP Daily News has learned from multiple sources that Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Laval, Quebec, will acquire as many as 40 locations from Houston-based Shell Oil Products US. Sources say the stores were previously run by Shell multi-site operators (MSOs).
While Shell officials declined to confirm the reports, CSP Daily News reported last month that Couche-Tard was closing in on the acquisition of 36 stores operated by Robert Juckniess, [image-nocss] owner of RWJ Cos., an Indianapolis-based Shell MSO. A 2005 lawsuit, however, slowed Shell's plans to sell the stations.
The locations I operate are still the subject of litigation so I cannot comment on rumors, Juckniess told CSP Daily News yesterday.
In March 2005, Shell notified RWJ that it intended to terminate the contracts between the parties and offer the Shell stations for sale to interested buyers, according to court documents. Juckniess had learned that a buyerbelieved to be Couche-Tardwas expected to be awarded the Indianapolis sites before the end of the year. Juckniess subsequently filed a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent termination of his contract with Shell, thus preventing the sale of the properties. That request was denied by U.S. District Court Judge David Hamilton on Dec. 28, 2005.
A Shell spokesperson said in January that because the injunction was denied, Shell may now proceed with a sale transaction on these sites. The spokesperson said Shell was selling 53 of its 54 sites in the Indianapolis area and would close the remaining site.
Scott Imus, executive director of the Indianapolis-based Indiana Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association (IPCA), told CSP Daily News Monday he knew that Shell had been seeking buyers for the sites but had not heard Couche-Tard's name mentioned as the buyer. IPCA has approximately 170 corporate members, which own or operate approximately 1,500 retail locations in Indiana.
Calls to Couche-Tard officials were unsuccessful. Couche-Tard's network currently includes more than 4,900 convenience stores in eight large geographic markets, including three in Canada and five, which cover 23 States in the United States, according to the company's website. Couche-Tard has said in recent months it is looking to boost its store count in the Midwest, including Indiana.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.