​CINCINATTI, Ohio – The Kroger Co. has officially closed the sale of its convenience store business unit to EG group, a UK-based fuel and convenience store, for $2.15 billion. The sale includes 762 convenience stores, including 66 franchise operations, in 18 states.

News first broke about the sale in October 2017, when Kroger announced its intention to explore strategic alternatives for its c-stores as part of a Restock Kroger initiative. In February 2018, Kroger revealed the sale to EG Group.

The stores currently employ 11,000 associates and generated sales of $4 billion in 2016. Store names include Turkey Hill, Loaf ‘N Jug, Kwik Shop, Tom Thumb and Quik Stop. Kroger’s supermarket fuel centers and its Turkey Hill Dairy were not included in the sale.

“Throughout the sales process, we have been impressed with EG Group’s professionalism, commitment to people, and understanding of the U.S. convenience retail market,” said Mike Schlotman, Kroger’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. “I can’t stress enough how important to our success Kroger’s convenience store management and associates have been, and we want to thank them for all of their contributions to our customers and our company.”

Cincinnati-based Kroger plans to use most of the after-tax proceeds to fund a new $1.2 billion accelerated share repurchase program, with the balance allocated for debt reduction.

http://www.convenience.org/Media/Daily/Pages/ND0504183_Kroger-Closes-Convenience-Store-Sale-for-2-Billion_Corporate.aspx#.Wu94S4gvwdU