Dive Brief:
- Sunoco LP closed its $9.1 billion acquisition of Parkland Corp. on Oct. 31, according to a Monday announcement.
- The combined entity has an enterprise value of about $25.5 billion and is now the largest independent fuel distributor in the Americas, according to both companies. Sunoco intends to terminate each of Parkland executive officers who remain with the Canadian company, while President and CEO Bob Espey will resign after 14 years of leadership.
- Besides the fuel assets, Sunoco now owns Parkland’s 3,600-plus retail sites across North America. In the U.S., that includes 699 locations, 122 of which are company owned and operated.
Dive Insight:
Sunoco sold many of its c-store assets to 7-Eleven in 2024, but still had about 76 company-operated c-stores as of earlier this year. Industry experts have spent the past several months pondering whether Sunoco will keep or sell the thousands of locations now under its ownership.
When asked in August what Sunoco’s M&A priorities will be once the deal closes, Sunoco President and CEO Joseph Kim said that the company will prioritize integrating Parkland’s assets into its network before assessing the market for any potential opportunities.
The deal — which Sunoco tried to make three separate times — concludes a tumultuous past few years for Parkland. The c-store and fuel retailer’s largest shareholder expressed discontent over long-term underperformance in early 2023, and a year later, launched a takeover bid of its board. Although the Sunoco agreement prevented the takeover bid, it led to Espey announcing his eventual resignation.
Parkland has particularly struggled in the U.S. during these few years. Since early 2023, it has made hundreds of staff cuts to its U.S. segment and even explored a sale of its Florida business amid operational struggles. The company’s full-year revenue in the U.S. fell from $186 million in 2023 to $168 million in 2024, which leadership pinned on unfavorable market conditions causing declines in retail and commercial fuel volumes.
Parkland’s shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the newly combined entity, SunocoCorp, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange this week.
