Marathon Sells 166 SuperAmerica Stores

Marathon Oil Corp. entered into agreements last month with an investment group to sell the majority of its Minnesota downstream assets, including 166 company-owned and -operated SuperAmerica convenience stores, SuperAmerica Franchising LLC and Super-Mom's Bakery, a baked goods supply operation.

Of the 166 wholly owned stores, 159 are located in Minnesota, one is located in South Dakota and six are located in Wisconsin, Robert Calmus, Marathon spokesman, told Convenience Store News. Also included in the sale are franchisor rights to 67 franchisee locations through SuperAmerica Franchising LLC. Of these stores, 61 are located in Minnesota, one is located in South Dakota and five are located in Wisconsin.

The sale also includes its St. Paul Park refinery and terminal, as well as interests in pipeline assets in Minnesota and inventories, the company stated. The estimated transaction value is more than $800 million.

The investment group is made up of ACON Investments LLC, NTR Partners LLC and TPG Capital LP.

This asset sale is part of Marathon's strategic efforts to better align the company's asset portfolio, Calmus told CSNews.

"As part of this, a sale of our downstream assets in Minnesota as a cohesive chunk can capture the value of these assets, and redeploy the [proceeds] to projects that will provide strong long-term returns that are more in the direction of our business plans," he said.

If completed, the transaction would not affect Marathon's brand footprint in Minnesota, which are composed of locations owned and operated by independent jobbers and dealers, Calmus said.

Marathon anticipated closing the deal within the late third or fourth quarter.