Dive Brief:
- BP has sold 13 Thorntons c-stores in Columbus, Ohio, and Lexington, Kentucky, to Giant Oil, a spokesperson from BP confirmed on Monday.
- The deal has already closed and all 13 locations have been rebranded to Giant Oil’s On the Fly banner, according to a LinkedIn post from one of the company’s regional managers on Sunday.
- Giant Oil’s pickup continues a busy year for M&A. There have been more than a dozen confirmed acquisitions in the convenience retail industry so far in 2026.
Dive Insight:
Giant Oil, which operates a fuel distribution business in addition to its convenience stores, needed just five days to rebrand these sites to its own banner, according to the LinkedIn post by Regional Manager Stacey Jobe. Officials from Giant Oil did not immediately respond to questions about whether or not the company implemented its FlyBy Kitchen foodservice program in the newly acquired locations.
In addition to Ohio and Kentucky, On the Fly operates in Indiana, Mississippi, Florida and Pennsylvania.
BP’s sale of these sites is the latest in a string of moves aimed at freeing up cash. In addition to selling a 65% shareholding in Castrol for proceeds of around $6 billion, the energy giant also sold its mobility, convenience store and charging business in the Netherlands in December and has paused stock buybacks. It plans to “fully allocate excess cash to accelerate strengthening the balance sheet,” CFO Kate Thomson said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February.
“This is part of our effort to continue optimizing our retail portfolio and high grading our network across the US,” said the BP spokesperson in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to serve our Thorntons guests throughout the Midwest and Florida.”
BP has also been on a mission to cut expenses by around $2 billion through this year. Its strategy has included laying off thousands of employees over the past couple years. The company cut capital expenses by 10% year over year in 2025, Thomson said in the earnings call.
