Imperial Oil sells Esso retail stations to 7-Eleven in Alberta and BC

Imperial Oil will sell its remaining 479 Esso retail stations to five Canadian distributors, including 7-Eleven Inc., for $2.8 billion, the company announced Tuesday. Other distributors include Parkland Fuel Corp. for sites in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. for retail stations in Ontario and Quebec, Harnois Groupe pétrolier for sites in Quebec,  and Wilson Fuel Co. Limited for sites in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

In a statement released by Imperial Oil, Rich Kruger, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Imperial said:

We believe these agreements represent the best way for Imperial to grow in the highly competitive Canadian fuels marketing business. The Esso brand has a leading presence in Canada through our distributor network and strong prospects for continued growth to the benefit of our customers and shareholders.

In the deal, 7-Eleven Canada, Inc., will acquire 148 convenience and fuel retail sites from Imperial Oil of Canada. The sites are located in Alberta and British Columbia, and include the metropolitan areas of Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. 7-Eleven will continue to market Esso-branded fuel however during the transition period most of the convenience stores will be converted to 7-Eleven stores.

The On the Run/Marché Express convenience store franchise will continue to operate at select retail stations within the Esso network under the ownership and management of Parkland Fuel.

Esso’s marketing and loyalty programs will continue unchanged. The sales are anticipated to close later this year, and will be subject to regulatory approvals. Currently there are more than 1,700 Esso retail stations operating in Canada.