Ahold Selling 198 US Convenience Stores

For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.

ZAANDAM, NETHERLANDS-The Dutch-owned supermarket giant Ahold has agreed to sell its remaining convenience stores in the United States, a chain of 198 properties owned by its US subsidiary Tops Markets LLC. The buyer is WFI Acquisitions Inc., a joint venture of the Buffalo, NY-based investment bank Nanco Enterprises Inc. and Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. Inc., a New York-based buyout shop. Nanco Enterprises’ investors for the acquisition include the Nanula family, one of the founding families of Tops Markets, which launched the Wilson Farms convenience store chain in 1969. The stores will continue to operate under the banners of Wilson Farms and Sugarcreek. The agreed upon purchase price was not released by the parties involved. The sale is expected to close before the end of the second quarter.Wilson Farms, a division of Tops Markets since 1969, operates 122 convenience stores in Western and Central New York. The 66 Sugarcreek convenience stores, all offering gasoline, were acquired by Tops in 2000 and are located in Central and Northern New York. The sale also includes 10 free-standing Tops Xpress convenience stores. The new ownership plans to upgrade existing stores and open additional locations, according to published reports.Tops Markets, which Ahold acquired in 1991, will continue to operate 155 full service (Tops Friendly) supermarkets in Northern New York, Northeastern Ohio and Northern Pennsylvania. Ahold announced its intention to divest its convenience stores in January 2004. The sale is part of Ahold’s strategic plan to restructure its portfolio in order to focus on its core food businesses. According to published reports coming out of The Netherlands, Ahold has been selling off assets in the United States as part of a global divestment program following an accounting scandal. Earlier this year it sold U.S. chains BI-LO and Bruno’s.