Couche-Tard to take over Hutch’s c-store operations

A total of 20 locations are expected to change owners by the end of January, marking the Canadian company’s foray into Oklahoma and Kansas.

Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian owner of the Circle K brand, is set to acquire Hutchinson Oil Company’s convenience store operations.

The company currently operates 20 Hutch’s c-stores across Oklahoma and Kansas, marking Couche-Tard expansion into its 47th and 48th states in the US. The acquisition was first reported by C-Store Dive through store-level sources.

Although the deal is expected to be completed by the end of January, there is still some uncertainty about Hutchinson Oil’s fuel distribution and car wash businesses. 

Based in Elk City, most of Hutch’s stores are located in central and western Oklahoma, while only two of them operate in Liberal, Kansas, a small town near the Oklahoma border.

Hutchinson Oil was founded in 1969 and has been family owned since then. The company joins the list of small retailers that have been acquired in a year marked by M&A operations for the fuel and convenience sector.

For Alimentation Couche-Tard, this also marks a return to Oklahoma, as the company previously sold 49 locations to Casey’s in 2021 for $39 million.