Doug Hendrix, left, and his brother David Hendrix own Summerwood Partners LLC of Bryant, which owns convenience store chain Big Red and this year ranked No. 5 for revenue growth among the largest private companies in Arkansas.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. of Laval, Canada, said Monday it will buy 45 Big Red Stores in Arkansas.
The transaction for the fuel and convenience stores is expected to close in the first half of the year for a price that wasn’t publicly disclosed, according to a news release from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.
Summerwood Partners LLC of Bryant operates the Big Red Stores. Founded in 1997 by brothers Doug Hendrix and David Hendrix, Big Red reported $306.25 million in 2021 revenue, up from $204.95 million in 2020. Summerwood Partners was ranked No. 39 on Arkansas Business’ list of largest private companies in 2022. It reported 563 employees last year.
The 45 locations are company owned and operated, and the company owns the real estate for 44 sites and leases the space for one location.
“We are very pleased to add Big Red Stores’ high-quality locations to our footprint in the state of Arkansas,” Alex Miller, Couche-Tard’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.
“As we expand our presence in the area, we look forward to bringing the Circle K experience to new customers and making their lives a little easier every day,” Miller said.
Couche-Tard said it would pay for the purchase with the company’s available cash or existing credit, or both.
Publicly traded Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD) operates in 24 countries and territories, with more than 14,300 stores, of which about 10,900 offer road transportation fuel. Its subsidiaries include Circle K and On the Run.
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