If the ongoing $9 billion deal gets approved, Sunoco will find itself with thousands more c-stores. Some experts think it should keep them, while others see an acquisition opportunity.
After selling hundreds of sites in recent years and retaining less than 100, c-stores clearly haven’t been a priority for Sunoco. Sunoco was clear that fuel was the key driver in its pursuit of Parkland Corp., the Canadian retailer and refiner it agreed to acquire for over $9 billion earlier this month.
The Dallas-based oil company said at the time that it was particularly drawn to Parkland’s Burnaby refinery, which produces low-carbon fuels. It also emphasized its intent to expand Parkland’s Canadian transportation energy infrastructure, as well as support future growth in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.
What hasn’t been as clear is what Sunoco plans to do with Parkland’s convenience store network. As of March, that included 645 sites in the U.S., about 200 of which Parkland directly operates. There are also more than 2,300 sites in Canada, 800 of which are company operated.
Sunoco, which sold many of its c-store assets to 7-Eleven in 2024, only had about 76 company-operated c-stores in its network as of February. But if its deal to acquire Parkland closes next month, the company will soon find itself with thousands more units.
The day the deal was announced, Sunoco and Parkland held a joint call to talk specifics. When an investor asked if Sunoco would consider offloading certain parts of Parkland’s business, Sunoco President and CEO Joseph Kim said Sunoco will “continually look at our existing assets.”
Parkland
In Canada, Sunoco is entering a massive market, where it currently has zero fuel or retail operations. It will become a major distributor and operator in the country essentially overnight. Sunoco will likely need a significant amount of time to examine these assets.
But that’s a different story in the U.S., where Parkland operates its c-store and fuel businesses out of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Florida. Although Sunoco has a few fuel terminals out West, most of its operations are in the middle of the country and East Coast, while most of its c-stores are in Hawaii.
Unless Sunoco plans on launching a large-scale c-store and fuel business out west, it’s likely Parkland’s locations in this part of the country will get divested, said c-store consultant Julie Jackson.
Sunoco would likely have to sell these stores in pieces instead of making one big deal, said Jackson, former president at G&M Oil, chief operating officer at Jaco Oil and an EVP at H&S Energy. This would open the door for notable players in that area of the country, such as Maverik, Jacksons Food Stores and United Pacific, she added.
“They may have opportunities there to pick up some of these business units,” Jackson said.
Jackson added that another reason Sunoco may want to sell Parkland’s company-operated stores is simply because this business model requires much more attention than dealer locations. She said she’s confident that at least in the U.S., Sunoco will end up selling Parkland’s c-store assets.
Full story Fueling Up: What will Sunoco do with Parkland’s c-stores? | C-Store Dive
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