Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. says it has signed a (euro)3.1 billion deal to acquire more than 2,000 service stations from French oil giant TotalEnergies SE.
The Laval-based convenience store and gas station operator says the acquisition would include all of TotalEnergies' retail assets in Germany and the Netherlands along with a 60 per cent controlling interest in its Belgium and Luxembourg entities.
The retail assets Couche-Tard will take over include 2,193 service stations. More than half are in Germany, but Couche-Tard will also own 566 in Belgium, 387 in Netherlands and 45 in Luxembourg.
Couche-Tard chief executive Brian Hannasch says his company was drawn to the deal because TotalEnergies has a customer-centric approach and the acquisition will allow his company to grow its presence in the European market.
The deal is subject to approvals from regulators and must go through an employee consultation process but is expected to close before the end of the year.
Couche-Tard tried to buy French grocer Carrefour SA in 2021, but decided to drop the bid, when the French government opposed the deal.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 16, 2023
