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Thursday, December 15, 2016

Fauser Exits Retail With Guppy’s Sale

Source: CSP Daily News
By Greg Lindenberg, Editor

ANKENY, Iowa -- With the sale of five Guppy’s on the Go convenience stores to Casey’s General Stores Inc., Fauser Energy Resources is exiting the retail sector.

Located in and around Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the c-stores range in size from 1,500 to 3,500 square feet.

Guppy’s on the Go was founded in March 1998, according to the company’s website. “We started our own business of convenience stores after seeing the decline in quality of the local convenience stores in Cedar Rapids and all across eastern Iowa,” it said.

Like Casey’s, the chain offers online pizza ordering at some locations.

“These stores were noncore assets for Fauser Energy and their only retail locations,” said Evan Gladstone, NRC’s executive managing director. “Fauser is concentrating on their fuels business, and running five c-stores was a distraction from their core operations. Operating retail stores in today’s competitive market requires time and capital, and [the sale] strengthens Fauser as a leading fuels wholesaler in 12 midwestern states.”

As reported in a McLane/CSP Daily News Flash, Ravinia Capital LLC, the financial adviser to Guppy’s on the Go, retained NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC to sell the noncore assets in August.

Elgin, Iowa-based Fauser put six Guppy’s stores up for sale. Following the sale of the five locations to Casey’s, one remains on the market. Several other Guppy’s stores not owned by Fauser will continue to operate.

Chicago-based NRC provides real-estate and financial advisory services to the convenience-store and petroleum industries and specializes in the accelerated sale of commercial and residential real estate.

Ravinia Capital is a Chicago-based boutique investment bank that serves as transactional advisers to middle market clients on capital market initiatives, including sales, mergers and acquisitions and refinancing.

Casey’s, based in Ankeny, Iowa, operates more than 1,940 convenience stores in 14 states in the Midwest.

To see a list of convenience stores for sale and gas stations for sale, click here.