Fas Mart Parent Completes 58-store Acquisition

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Israel-based Petro Group, parent company to GPM Investments, the owner of the Fas Mart/Shore Stop chain of convenience stores, completed a 58-location acquisition of stores in Tennessee and West Virginia for $46 million, reported Haaretz.com.

CSNews Online broke the story in March, when it learned that Fas Mart signed agreements to purchase the stores, which generated $132 million in 2006. The 58 convenience stores are coupled with 55 gas stations, according to Haaretz.com.

While GPM signed the purchase agreement earlier this week and still needs to perform due diligence and complete the closing, the company plans to begin rebranding the stores to the Fas Mart banner by the end of this year, GPM president and CEO Dave McComas told CSNews Online.

Petro Group is financing the deal using bank loans and its equity, along with a long-term sale leaseback arrangement, the report stated.

As first reported by Convenience Store News in its April 16 issue, Fas Mart was close to closing three acquisitions, expanding its base of more than 153 stores in Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina and Connecticut.

This most recent acquisition, which adds to a 70-location purchase from Sweet Oil Co. that was finalized in March, is one of three acquisitions the company has planned for 2007 -- including a $1.8 million deal and a $17 million acquisition, both of which have yet to close -- that were announced at the company's 2007 Trade Show in early March.

The three acquisitions in the pipeline might not be it for the company this year. "We continue to look for profitable growth opportunities," McComas said.
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