3 Big Numbers is a weekly column that looks at a few key details from around the c-store industry.
Parkland Corp. agreed to sell its business to Sunoco on Monday. This came after years of being pressured to make a change by shareholders and about two years after reportedly turning this particular suitor down.
The announcement came on the same day as its latest earnings report and a day before major shareholder Simpson Oil expected to upend Parkland’s board of directors. After Simpson unsuccessfully sought a court order to force the vote to go ahead, all eyes are now on the rescheduled company meeting, set for June 24, when shareholders can approve or reject Sunoco’s offer.
In this week’s “3 Big Numbers,” we look at what that deal could mean by examining the buyout price, the number of retail locations involved and how Parkland has fared in the U.S. lately.
$9.1 billion
The valuation of Sunoco’s offer for Parkland.
We’re starting at the top: Sunoco has offered to buy Parkland in a deal worth $9.1 billion. And while the payout will be a boon for Parkland shareholders, Sunoco sees big gains as well, including an estimated $250 million in synergies in three years and 10% accretion to cash flow.
Sunoco is no stranger to big M&A. In 2024, it bought fellow energy company NuStar Energy for over $7 billion. Like that deal, Sunoco’s interest in Parkland is focused on the energy assets. Its announcement about the deal on Monday centered on energy infrastructure. Retail assets, on the other hand, weren’t specifically highlighted.
Which brings us to…
3,705
The total number of retail locations involved in the Parkland deal.
Sunoco may not be primarily focused on Parkland’s retail arm, but those assets are still part of the package. According to a recent investor presentation, Parkland has close to 4,000 retail locations — 1,350 company-owned c-stores, 2,040 dealer locations and 315 M&M Food Stores globally. Out of those, 645 are in the U.S.
Maybe Sunoco will keep those locations. It could be planning to follow BP, which over the past few years took full control of Thorntons and bought TravelCenters of America.
Or maybe it’ll divest the sites. It did sell more than 200 c-stores to 7-Eleven last year, after all.
While Sunoco said the Parkland deal “further diversifies Sunoco's portfolio and geographic footprint,” retailers will be keeping an eye on this deal to see if Sunoco decides to put those locations on the market.
$15 million
The year-over-year drop in Parkland’s U.S. Q1 adjusted EBITDA.
In the leadup to the acquisition, one of Simpson Oil’s major complaints about Parkland was long-term underperformance. While Parkland pushed back, it repeatedly admitted to difficulties in the U.S. The company even said last year that it would be selling its Florida business, where about half of its c-stores in the U.S. are located.
While Parkland cancelled its earnings call on Tuesday, it still released its Q1 earnings report. U.S. adjusted EBITDA came in at $16 million — down $15 million, or nearly half, from the $31 million it brought in this time last year.
The decrease was driven by macroeconomic factors suppressing fuel demand and “regulatory developments that also impacted Parkland's ability to capture supply optimization opportunities associated with moving refined product between Canada and the U.S.,” according to the earnings release.
