Oct 24 (Reuters) – Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard proposed an offer of $7.5 billion to $8 billion for US convenience store operator Cumberland Farms, formerly known as EG Group, Britain’s Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
• The offer would be lower than Cumberland Farms’ $9 billion valuation target for a planned US IPO, the report said
• Couche-Tard and Cumberland Farms did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for a comment
• Cumberland Farms remained committed to a US listing, the report said, citing people close to the company
• The report also said Cumberland Farms had delayed its planned IPO after receiving takeover interest, including from infrastructure investor Stonepeak
• A float is unlikely to take place before 2027 for Cumberland, the Financial Times reported earlier this month, citing people, although the company has not publicly given a timeline
• Private equity firm TDR Capital owns 50% of Cumberland Farms, while British billionaire entrepreneurs, the Issa brothers, each hold 25%, the Times report said
• Cumberland Farms operates more than 3,200 convenience stores and fuel stations across the US and Europe
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)
