Couche-Tard's strategic dealmaking is once again on display
Reports that Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. was exploring another major acquisition put the convenience store industry on alert Monday.
This time, the global convenience retailer's focus is reportedly on U.S.-based Cumberland Farms, formerly known as EG Group.
According to The Times of London, Laval-based Couche-Tard offered between $7.5 billion and $8 billion to acquire Cumberland Farms. The reported offer comes as Cumberland Farms weighs its options following delays to a planned U.S. initial public offering (IPO).
If the offer is in the table, it closely follows Couche-Tard's agreement to acquire Poland-based Żabka Group for $8.6 billion. It also comes a little more than year after the retailer ended its highly publicized pursuit of Seven & i Holdings Ltd.
In the summer of 2024, Couche-Tard first approached Seven & i with an acquisition proposal of roughly $38.5 billion, or $14.86 per share. Couche-Tard increased the bid to approximately $47 billion in October 2024. Months of stops and starts between the two companies followed before they signed a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) in May 2025. The agreement included customary and appropriate provisions, including a "standstill," the detailed terms of which remained confidential.
The NDA was meant to facilitate information-sharing beyond the information already being provided to potential divestiture package buyers, Seven & i stated at the time.
However, in July 2025, Couche-Tard withdrew its proposal, citing "a lack of constructive engagement."
READ: Couche-Tard buying fuel retail sites from Irving Oil in Quebec and Ontario
An appetite for M&A
Retail analyst Bruce Winder of Toronto-based Bruce Winder Retail is not surprised by reports that Couche-Tard is offering up to $8 billion for Cumberland Farms.
As Winder noted, Couche-Tard has been in acquisition mode for at least a decade, if not longer. The company is always looking for other fuel retailers and exploring potential synergies. In this case, Cumberland Farms also has strengths beyond fuel, including prepared food—an area Couche-Tard is looking to develop.
Reports put Couche-Tard's offer between $7.5 billion and $8 billion, below the more than $9 billion valuation Cumberland Farms targeted in its recent plans to go public in the United States.
The reported offer is also well below the valuation attached to EG Group in 2022, when Couche-Tard and EG Group explored a possible merger. At the time, the potential deal was valued at $16 billion.
According to Winder, Couche-Tard's current offer "is pretty reasonable on the surface."
But given its abandoned bid for Seven & i Holdings and its recently inked deal for Poland-based Żabka Group—the largest M&A deal in the company's history—does Couche-Tard risk getting too big or biting off more than it can chew?
It is possible, Winder said, adding that he was nervous about a potential 7-Eleven deal.
"They seem to swing big for some of these deals," he told Convenience Store News. "I would much prefer someone this size [Cumberland Farms] than someone like 7-Eleven."
That said, Couche-Tard has historically has been successful at acquiring large companies and integrating them into their operations, Winder noted. The company is good at "making it work."
However, "there is always the risk you will hit the tipping point," Winder said.
Despite the risks, Winder believes a deal could be successful, noting that "it is not Couche-Tard's first merger."
"This will be interesting to see if it happens," he said.
This article was originally published in our sister publication in the U.S., Convenience Store News on October 27, 2026.
