7‑Eleven buys 3,800 Speedways for $21 billion, completing largest acquisition in c-store history

The 7-Eleven Inc. convenience store chain said last week that it had completed the acquisition of Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Enon,OH-based Speedway, and operator of some 3,800 c-stores in 36 states. The size of the deal was $21 billion.

Seven-Eleven, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Seven & I Holdings Co., reached a pact with Marathon last August. The company said the addition of Speedway brings 7‑Eleven’s total North American portfolio to approximately 14,000 stores and diversifies 7‑Eleven’s presence to 47 of the 50 most populated metro areas in the U.S. 

Seven-Eleven president and chief executive Joe DePinto said, “Speedway is a great brand and a strong strategic fit” and strengthen 7-Eleven’s presence particularly in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the timing of the acquisition’s closing was unusual “because Democrats and Republicans at the Federal Trade Commission each said they had reasons to believe the transaction was unlawful, though the two camps, in dueling statements, signaled there wasn’t consensus, at least not yet, on how to address those concerns.”

On the same day, May 14, of the acquisition’s consummation, 7‑Eleven said it was legally allowed to close on the Speedway transaction and statements or implications to the contrary are false.