Jacksons Acquires 96 Stations in Seattle Area
7-Eleven To Add California Stores
Fleet Card Fuels Acquires Sabco Petroleum
FTC Reviewing Flying J-Pilot Merger Plans
Thief Returns To Pay For Stolen Beer

JACKSONS ACQUIRES 96 STATIONS IN SEATTLE AREA

SEATTLE, WA. — PacWest Energy LLC., has acquired 96 Shell-branded stations in the greater Seattle area.

PacWest Energy LLC is a joint venture of Jacksons Food Stores, based in Meridian, ID., and Shell Oil Products U.S.

Of the 96 stations, 54 will be owned and operated by Jacksons and the convenience stores will be rebranded to the Jacksons image. The company said many of the locations will be upgraded as part of the rebranding process.

The remaining 42 sites will keep the Shell brand and be operated by dealers with fuel supply coming from Jackson Oil.

The deal with Shell comes on the heels of another deal with Chevron in the Reno area. There Jacksons acquired 14 stations branded Chevron and Texaco, eight company-operations and six dealer sites. The Nevada stations have been rebranded to Jacksons Food Stores.

With the recent acquisitions, Jacksons now operates 213 service stations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada.

7-ELEVEN TO ADD CALIFORNIA STORES

SACRAMENTO, CA. — 7-Eleven Inc. plans to open 50 new convenience stores in Northern California before the end of 2011.

The Dallas-based company has earmarked $50 million to acquire new c-stores in Northern California stores and and additional funds to remodel 100 older stores on the West Coast, according to 7-11 spokesman Margaret Chabris.

"We're going into aggressive growth mode," she said.

Chabris explained that the company's strategy is to increase the number of locations by three methods: adding new sites, taking over smaller c-store chains or through its business conversion program. In the conversion program, the company persuades existing businesses that might be struggling but are in ideal locations to convert to a 7-Eleven. Chabris said at least 150 former delis, dry cleaners and other mom-and-pop businesses have made the conversion to 7-Eleven stores so since 2006.

Because of the poor economy and high vacancy rate in Northern California, 7-Eleven has targeted the area because of the relative "bargains" to open new c-stores.

Eight new 7-Eleven sites reportedly are "already in the pipeline" in the greater Sacramento area.

FLEET CARD FUELS ACQUIRES SABCO PETROLEUM

BAKERSFIELD, CA. — Fleet Card Fuels, based here, has acquired Sabco Petroleum Inc., of San Bernardino, CA. The price for the sale was not disclosed.

Sabco distributed gasoline and diesel to 58 Valero-branded stations across Southern California. The company was closely held by founder Samir Haggag and was incorporated in 2004.

"This business opportunity is a solid fit for our company both strategically and culturally," said Henry Medina, Fleet Card Fuels president, announcing the deal.

The acquisition was finalized at the beginning of the year.

FTC REVIEWING FLYING J-PILOT MERGER PLANS

OGDEN, UT. — The Federal Trade Commission has put the brakes on the proposed merger of the Flying J and Pilot Travel Centers, asking for additional information from the two companies.

Flying J had announced plans to merge its truck stop operations with Pilot Travel Centers LLC last July. Under the terms of the Letter of Intent filed with the Bankruptcy Court, all Flying J creditor obligations would be paid in full following the merger. In addition, Pilot had also agreed to provide $100 million in Debtor-in-Possession financing for Flying J's operations. These terms were approved by the Bankrutpcy Court in August.

However, the value of the merger is large enough to require Flying J and Pilot to file paperwork with the FTC under the Hart Scott Rodino Act. The Commission has chosen to review the terms of the merger to see if anti-trust legislation would require some of the assets to be removed from the merger.

Not included in the deal with Pilot Travel Centers were Flying J's other assets including its Longhorn Pipeline, Big West Oil, Flying J Oil & Gas, Haycock Petroleum, and Transportation Alliance Bank.

THIEF RETURNS TO PAY FOR STOLEN BEER

PHOENIX, AZ. — A thief stole beer from a Circle K, then returned to pay for it.

According to police reports, the man entered the c-store, located at North 43rd Avenue and Camelback Road, and asked the clerk if he could borrow some money to buy some beer. When the clerk refused, the man walked to the back of the store, and then reappeared with a bulge under his shirt. The clerk noticed the bulge and told the thief to put the beer back. The man told the clerk the bulge wasn't from shoplifted beer but from a gun. He then fled the store.

An hour later, the man returned to the store with money to pay for the beer he had stolen under his shirt. Police officers, who had been summoned to the scene, said "it appeared the man had been assaulted."

Originally published in the February 2010 issue of O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2010 by KAL Publications Inc.