ATD.B grows in Ireland

Article Excerpt

ALIMENTATION COUCHETARD $63.53 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couchetard. com; Shares outstanding: 567.4 million; Market cap: $35.9 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) has agreed to buy Ireland’s Topaz chain. The price was not disclosed but is likely in the $400-million range. Topaz is the country’s leading operator of gas stations and convenience stores. The chain consists of 464 locations across Ireland. This purchase is smaller than Couche-Tard’s $2.7-billion purchase of Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail gas station chain in June 2012 and The Pantry, which it bought for $1.7 billion in March 2015. The Pantry operates 1,500 convenience stores in the U.S. However, acquisitions of all sizes are a key part of Couche- Tard’s growth strategy. Expanding in this way adds risk, but the company does a good job of integrating the businesses it buys. Couche-Tard is a buy. buy…