7-Eleven Acquires 55 Sam's Marts in the Carolinas

DALLAS -- Fifty-five Sam's Mart locations in the Carolinas will be carrying the 7-Eleven banner now that the convenience store chain has entered into an agreement to acquire the stores.

Financial terms for the deal, which is expected to close next month, were not disclosed, according to a report by the Charlotte Business Journal.

This move marks 7-Eleven Inc.'s re-emergence on the Charlotte, N.C., scene. The retail giant previously operated c-stores in the Charlotte market from 1964 until 1988.

The acquisition is part of the company’s accelerated growth plan. 7-Eleven opened 650 stores in the United States and Canada in 2011, the news outlet reported.

"Sam's Mart has a successful store operation and quality locations that fit our strategy to expand where we have existing stores or in areas near markets where we have operations," said Stan Reynolds, 7-Eleven's executive vice president and CFO. "We will provide the food, beverages and services that 7-Eleven stores are best known for."

7-Eleven also plans to introduce its proprietary retail information system to the Sam's Marts to provide store personnel with leading technology to better serve their customers' needs. The retailer will also hire local contractors to remodel the stores later this year.

In addition, 7-Eleven has offered current Sam's Mart employees positions with the reflagged stores pending background checks and interviews, according to the report.

The deal does not affect Sam's Mart LLC's other 91 stores in the Charlotte and Atlanta metropolitan areas. Sam's Mart was advised on the deal by Robert Valentine of Trefethen Advisors. Legal advice was provided by Garth Dunklin of Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman.