INDIANAPOLIS — Seven & i Holdings, the world’s largest convenience-store franchiser, agreed to buy Marathon Petroleum’s Speedway gas stations for $21 billion, betting that an expanded U.S. footprint will deliver growth amid the uncertainty of the pandemic.
The transaction, to be paid in cash and partly financed using debt, will add about 3,900 stores to 9,800 locations operated by the retailer’s U.S.-based 7-Eleven unit, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement Monday.
Indiana is one of Speedway’s largest markets, with more than 300 stores. The company operates in 36 states.
Seven & i shares fell as much as 8.4% by midday in Japan, the biggest intraday decline since March. Marathon rose 20% before regular U.S. trading hours.
The deal is the second-largest purchase of a U.S. target this year and the biggest yet for Seven & i, a retail giant with 69,000 stores worldwide including 7-Eleven outlets and Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Japan. Seven & i spent $3.3 billion three years ago to buy Sunoco LP gas stations and convenience stores in a push to expand its U.S. footprint.
“This is a historic first step as we seek to become a global retailer,” CEO Ryuichi Isaka said on a conference call Monday.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
