Speedway to buy most Gas City outlets
BY MIKE NOLAN mnolan@southtownstar.com April 12, 2011 2:20PM
Gas City at 18460 S. 80th Avenue in Tinley Park, Illinois, Tuesday, April 12, 2011. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media
Updated: April 12, 2011 2:22PM
Gas station chain Speedway will buy the bulk of Gas City stores in the Southland, according to documents in Gas City’s bankruptcy case.
A Canadian convenience store operator, Alimentation Couche-Tard, also will pick up a handful of stores.
Gas City, which filed for bankruptcy last October, held an auction earlier this month for its stations in Illinois, Indiana, Arizona and Florida.
A court hearing to consider approval of the winning bids is scheduled for Wednesday.
Speedway, a subsidiary of Ohio-based Marathon, will pay more than $70 million for 27 stations.Frankfort-based Gas City originally had an agreement to sell 46 of its stations to Alimentation Couche-Tard, but that firm ended up with just five outlets at the auction. It’s getting Gas City stations in Monee, Orland Hills and Palos Park.
Alimentation Couche-Tard operates 5,800 stores in North America. Many of its U.S. stores operate under the Circle K name.
Truck stop operator TravelCenters of America is buying Gas City stores in Indiana as well as a station in Monee. Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is buying another Gas City in Monee.
Separately, William A. McEnery, son of Gas City founder William J. McEnery, emerged as the winning bidder for seven The Creamery ice cream shops in the Southland, most of which are near Gas City stations. He bid $3.26 million for the stores, according to a court filing.
A resident of Homer Glen, William J. McEnery started Gas City with a single station on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
When the trust that owns the stations filed for bankruptcy last fall, it listed liabilities in excess of $100 million.
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