Couche-Tard could sell stores if successful
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. said Wednesday it will sell convenience stores and service stations in 25 locations if it is successful in its hostile takeover of Casey’s General Stores Inc. Canadian-based Couche-Tard said it reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to sell the stores in the Midwest, where it could have an overlap with existing Casey’s stores. Couche-Tard operates Circle K convenience stores in the Midwest. The company has offered $38.50 a share to buy out Ankeny-based Casey’s, whose board has rejected Couche-Tard’s overtures and urged shareholders to ignore the offer. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that 7-Eleven Inc. has offered $40 a share. Casey’s said earlier this week that it was considering an offer from an unnamed suitor. The company said the $40 bid, valued at more than $2 billion, was too low, but that it had agreed to negotiate. A Casey’s spokesman declined comment on the Wall Street Journal report.