CALGARY, Alberta -- Major Canadian integrated oil producer, refiner and marketer Imperial Oil Ltd. is moving forward with plans to sell approximately 500 of its remaining company-owned Esso gas stations and has begun to accept proposals from interested bidders, four sources familiar with the process told Reuters.
In January, Calgary, Alberta-based Imperial Oil—which is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil— said it is evaluating the “potential transition” of its remaining retail outlets in Canada to a branded wholesaler operating model; it is also evaluating the “growth opportunities” for the On the Run convenience store brand.
About 1,200 of Imperial Oil's 1,700 Esso-branded sites operate under a wholesaler model, where the stations are owned by other parties but supplied by Imperial Oil and retain the Esso brand, said the report.
Parties interested in the assets include Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., CST Brands Inc. and Parkland Fuel Corp., the sources—who asked not to be named as they have not been cleared to discuss the matter publicly—told the news agency. Couche-Tard and CST both have extensive Canadian and U.S. retail networks. All three companies already operate Esso-branded stations in Canada.
Local real-estate developers, along with some private-equity buyers, are also showing interest in the gas stations, said two of the sources.
Imperial Oil declined to comment on details of the sale process. Parkland, CST and Couche-Tard were not immediately available for comment.
Imperial Oil has broken up the 500 stations into a number of packages, split geographically, the sources said, adding that interested parties can bid on one, several or the whole.
Since Imperial Oil does not break out specific earnings numbers for the 500 stations, valuation ranges on the assets have varied widely, the report said.
First Energy analyst Michael Dunn told Reuters that these sites could be worth as much as $2 million (Canadian; $1.66 million U.S.) each, implying that proceeds from the sale could top $1 billion ($832 million U.S.). He noted the assets were largely in densely populated, high-traffic urban areas and many had car washes and Tim Hortons bakery and coffee outlets.