Couche-Tard adds stores

Article Excerpt

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $13.27 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: SI Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 193.1 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion) has agreed to buy 450 On the Run convenience stores in the U.S. from Exxon-Mobil. It will also convert 43 locations in Phoenix, Arizona, to its Circle K brand. Couche-Tard minimizes the risk of its growth-by-acquisition strategy by looking for profitable, well-managed chains that have room to grow. The company does a good job of integrating new acquisitions, and it could buy more of the 2,100 On the Run stores that ExxonMobil still owns. Alimentation Couche-Tard is still a buy. buy…