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LAVAL, QUEBEC-Locally headquartered Alimentation Couche-Tard, Canada's third largest retailer, is acquiring 90 convenience stores in Georgia and Alabama from Spectrum Holding Inc. of West Point, GA. The transaction is expected to close in June.

Alimentation Couche-Tard--French for "nourishment for people who go to bed late"--is making the acquisition through Circle K Stores Inc., the company it acquired in 2003. The acquisition price has not yet been disclosed, but Alimentation Couche-Tard says the portfolio of properties should produce sales of $325 million annually.

The 90 stores currently operate under the Spectrum brand. Under the agreement, the company would buy the land and buildings for 58 of the stores and lease the other locations. Thirty-five locations have drive-thru car washes and 13 have quick-service restaurants, several of which are company operated. About one third of the stores serve BP branded fueled, seven serve Shell and the remainder serve LoBucks and Spectrum proprietary brands.

The acquisition would take Alimentation Couche-Tard's Southeastern US portfolio to 365 stores. Robert Campau, the company's VP of operations for the Southeastern US, says the stores will be an "excellent fit" with its current network of stores in the region, which it plans to grow to 500 in the "medium term."

The majority of the stores are located in the major metropolitan cities of Columbus, Macon, Mobile, Birmingham and Montgomery. The remainder is located in communities along key interstate corridors connecting those cities. The stores employ 840 people.

Spectrum Holding entered the convenience store business in 1965. A company executive could not be reached Tuesday for comment. Alimentation Couche-Tard is the fourth-largest convenience store operator in North America and Canada's third-largest retailer with nearly 4,900 outlets under the Circle K, Couche-Tard, Dairy Mart, Mac's, and various other banners.

Trefethen & Company LLC served as financial advisor to Couche-Tard. Morgan Keegan & Company Inc. served as financial advisor to Spectrum.

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Alimentation Couche-Tard Buying 90 Spectrum Stores

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