Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, March 11, 2016

Article Excerpt

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD, $60.63, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, has agreed to buy 279 Esso gas stations in Ontario and Quebec from Imperial Oil for $1.7 billion. (Imperial Oil is a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our newsletter that focuses on conservative investments.) Imperial Oil is selling all of its 497 company-owned Esso gas stations to independent operators for $2.8 billion. Following the sale, franchisees will operate all of its 1,700 Esso stations across Canada. Besides Couche-Tard, the buyers include 7-Eleven Canada, which is getting 148 stations in Alberta and British Columbia. Parkland Fuel (Toronto symbol PKI) will buy 17 stations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. All the buyers will continue to purchase their fuel from Imperial and keep using the Esso brand. Couche-Tard will not have the rights to use the On the Run banner for the gas station convenience stores it buys. Instead, it will rebrand them as Circle K outlets. The Esso purchase looks like a great fit for Couche-Tard. The company is getting…