A Massachusetts gas station giant has swooped into the region and in two rapid, back-to-back deals is poised to become one of the biggest owners of convenience stores in the Upper Valley.
Waltham, Mass.-based Global Partners, one of the largest owners of fuel stations and convenience stores in the Northeast, has reached agreements to buy the 37 fuel stations with accompanying Jiffy Mart convenience stores owned by Vermont-based Champlain Oil Co., as well as 10 fuel stations and T-Bird Mini Mart stores owned by New Hampshire-based Cheshire Oil Co.
The two deals encompass 20 fuel stations and convenience stores in the Upper Valley, catapulting Global Partners to among the largest “c-store” operators in the region. A deal for Cheshire Oil to sell its T-Bird Mini Mart stores and gas stations to Energy North Group of Lawrence, Mass., fell through earlier this year after it failed to close.
Global Partners said the two deals enlarge the Massachusetts company’s market reach in the Twin States in addition to the gas stations location being strategically located to Global Partner’s fuel depots in Burlington and Albany, N.Y., enabling short-haul transport to fuel pumps.
Sales terms were not disclosed. Both Champlain Oil and Cheshire Oil are privately held family companies. Champlain Oil’s “Jiffy Mart is an established brand with locations along high-traffic routes throughout northern New England,” Eric Slifka, chief executive of Global Partners, said in a news release.
The acquisition of Cheshire Oil’s T-Bird Mini Mart stores and gas stations “expands (Global Partners) retail presence in New Hampshire and benefits from economies of scale in the purchase of fuel and convenience store merchandise,” he added.
A spokeswoman for Global Partners said company executives would not be available to discuss any plans they might have in mind for the Jiffy Mart and T-Bird stores until after the Champlain and Cheshire deals closed, which is expected in the third quarter.
The Champlain deal, in addition to the 37 company-operated Jiffy Mart stores and fuel stations, includes 24 fuel sites that are either owned or leased, according to Global Partners. The acquisition also comes with a fuel supply agreement to about 70 other fuel stations, mostly in Vermont and New Hampshire. The stations sell gas variously under the Mobil, Shell, Citgo, Sunoco and Irving brands.
Global Partners, which reported revenues totaling $8.9 billion in 2017, leases or supplies more than 1,500 fuel stations in the Northeast and operates 260 convenience stores under such names as XtraMart, Alltown and Honey Brands. Global Partners last year bought Worcester, Mass.-based Honey Brands, an operator of convenience stores and fuel stations, for about $36 million in cash.
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