See ya’ Speedway, hello 7-Eleven

Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: Marathon Petroleum has sold its Speedway convenience stores to 7-Eleven.

By Jon Johnson

GRAHAM COUNTY – The look of Graham County’s most prolific convenience store chain is set to change again as Marathon Petroleum Corporation announced Sunday that it had sold its Speedway gas station chain to Seven & I Holdings, which operates the 7-Eleven convenience stores, for $21 billion in cash Seven & I Holdings is a Japanese retail group.

According to 7-Eleven, the company will acquire approximately 3,900 Speedway stores in 35 states, bringing the total number of 7-Eleven locations to roughly 14,000 in the United States and Canada.

Marathon Petroleum, based in Findlay, Ohio, merged San Antonio-based Andeavor for $23.3 billion in 2018. In that deal, Marathon took over Andeavor’s refineries in the west, including Western Refining Inc., – which Andeavor previously acquired for $6.4 billion in 2017. Andeavor’s retail markets at that time included Shell, Exxon, Mobil Tesoro, USA Gasoline, and Giant.

In the summer of 2019, Marathon began rebranding the local Giant and Shell stations to Speedway convenience stores. However, it had been shopping its Speedway stores for months and a previous deal with 7-Eleven failed to materialize earlier this year. Other convenience store operators – including Circle K – had been rumored to be potential suitors until the deal with 7-Eleven was announced Sunday.

*The area’s Speedway stores will be transformed into 7-Eleven stores.*

There are currently eight Speedway gas stations operated in Graham County – four in Safford, three in Thatcher, and one in Pima. Circle K operates three convenience stores in the county – two that supply gasoline – and Chevron has one in Thatcher.

7-Eleven Incorporated is based in Irving, Texas, and operates, franchises, or licenses more than 71,100 stores in 17 countries. It is known for its iconic brands, such as Slurpee, Big Bite, and Big Gulp. Like the Speedway rewards program, it also offers a 7Rewards loyalty program. When the stores will begin the transformation into 7-Elevens was not immediately announced.