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- 11 Dec
Valero announces the go-ahead to spin off Corner Store retail c-store division
Ever since last July when Valero announced the idea of spinning off their retail division to help add shareholder value, speculation in the c-store industry has been rampant. Would there be a large scale sell-off to a particular suitor or series of suitors? Would Valero sell off the stores piecemeal? Would the 1027 company-owned store chain remain in tact?
Yesterday Valero brought all speculation to an end by officially announcing the spin-off of their retail division, keeping it entirely in tact. The new company will be named Corner Store Holdings, Inc., and it will be publicly traded on the NYSE under the code CST. Valero expects to complete the spin-off by March or April 2013.
The CEO of the new company will be Kim Bowers, replacing Gary Arthur who is moving to the Wholesale Marketing division. Bowers will be in charge of the 1027 stores Valero owns in the US, while Arthur will be in charge of the independent branded stores Valero doesn’t own.
It will be interesting to see what fuel brand options Corner Store Holdings decides to explore, now that they will be out from under the wing of Valero refining. We can expect Corner Store Holdings to enter a growth mode in store count based on a statement from Bill Day, Valero spokesman. “Bowers has a lot of experience in mergers and acquisitions, and expanding lines of business,” Day said. “That’s what retail is all about.”
Valero Retail uses the PriceAdvantage fuel pricing optimization software for their gas pricing strategies at all 1027 company-owned retail stores in the US.
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