Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, June 22, 2012

Article Excerpt

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD INC., $44.47, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, has succeeded in its bid to buy Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA for $2.7 billion. Couche-Tard says that 94.1% of Statoil Fuel’s shareholders have tendered to its offer. It also bought an additional 2.7% stake in Statoil Fuel on the stock market. That raises its total ownership to 96.8%. Under Norwegian law, Couche-Tard can now compel the remaining investors to tender their stock. Statoil Fuel has over 1,700 gas stations in Scandinavia and over 550 in Central and Eastern Europe. The company accounts for over 30% of convenience store sales in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia and Estonia, and is among the top five in both Lithuania and Poland. There is lots of room for Couche-Tard to add value to the Statoil gas station chain. For example, Statoil Fuel’s stations offer a range of groceries and fresh and prepared foods. The company has been adding to its fresh food offerings with its new brand, Made to…