Holiday Stationstores Sold To Canadian Company

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A gas station and convenience store company with a strong foot print across Minnesota has been sold.

Holiday Stationstores Inc. will soon have a new owner: Canadian-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

Couche-Tard owns more than 14,000 convenience stores across the world, most notably Circle K.

If you're on the road across the Upper Midwest and need gas, snacks, or supplies for your ride, there's a good chance the patriotic Holiday sign was there to greet you. Company representatives say that won't change after its sale.

Holiday Stationstores can be found across 10 states with more than 500 locations. There are 315 alone in Minnesota, which is the most of any state. Wisconsin is second with 84.

And even though the 90-year-old business will be owned by a company north of the border, representatives say it will keep its red, white and blue look.

They have not mentioned plans to close stores or lay off any of their nearly 6,000 employees.

Instead, representatives believe they will pump up their numbers with a possible expansion.

Holiday will continue producing its own fresh and frozen foods, and the corporate office will remain in Bloomington.

Ronald Erickson, chairman and CEO of Holiday, released this statement Tuesday:

We are pleased to entrust Couche-Tard with carrying forward the Holiday brand and our highly successful programs. Our 90-year history and our promising future are being placed into excellent hands.

Couche-Tard expects the sale to finalize next year. Both sides signed a confidentiality agreement that keeps the sale price private.