Circle K’s parent company agreed to buy GetGo, the convenience store division of supermarket Giant Eagle, in a deal announced the same day the company confirmed an unsolicited offer to buy 7-Eleven’s holding company.
Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian owner of Circle K, said it will acquire GetGo Café & Market for an undisclosed amount. GetGo operates about 270 stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. The sale is expected to close next year, pending regulatory approval.
The agreement comes amid a wave of acquisitions, expansions and property upgrades among convenience store chains. Alimentation Couche-Tard on Monday said it offered to buy Seven & I Holdings, the parent of 7-Eleven. It came after BP last year acquired TravelCenters of America for $1.3 billion, while Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is spending about $1 billion to renovate stores.
GetGo operates both traditional stores and stand-alone kiosks and sells made-to-order food at most locations.
The sale “enhances our focus on our core supermarket and pharmacy businesses, strengthening Giant Eagle and better enabling us to make strategic investments,” Giant Eagle CEO Bill Artman said in a statement.
Privately held Giant Eagle, based in Pittsburgh, operates about 470 supermarket locations. Giant Eagle did not immediately respond to a request to comment.