Sunoco stocks skyrocketed Thursday, closing 20.24 percent higher after the gas station firm announced it would divest most of its convenience stores to 7-Eleven in a deal worth $3.3 billion.
On Thursday, Sunoco announced a definite asset purchase agreement with 7-Eleven for 1,110 Sunoco convenience stores in 19 geographic regions. The stores, which include gas stations and attached convenience stores geared toward motorists, will sell Sunoco fuel as part of a 15-year take-or-pay fuel supply agreement. The stores will retain the Sunoco brand.
The convenience store is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based retail conglomerate Seven & I Holdings, with subsidiaries that include convenience stores, restaurants, supermarkets, and banks.
Sunoco's stock, which is currently trading around $28.17 per share Thursday, closed at $24.07 on Wednesday.
Sunoco, a downstream petroleum distributor, sells gasoline through more than 4,900 retail outlets and is considered a 'pure play' company that focuses exclusively on a single industry or product, in this case selling petroleum.