Casy's General Store

Casey's Introduction

In 1959, Founder Don Lamberti leased a store from his father on east 14th and Broadway in Des Moines, Iowa. Currently headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa. Their third store was built in another small community with a population of only 1,500 - Waukee, Iowa. This was the first Casey's built totally from scratch and proved to be the best store yet. At this point, Don realized he was on to something and decided to establish the stores in communities with a population of 5,000 or less. There are currently 1728 corporate stores in operation, with 493 located in Iowa.

Casey's General Stores, Inc., headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, owns and operates 1,700 convenience stores in 12 Midwestern states. The stores offer self-service gasoline, a wide variety of grocery items, and prepared foods, such as made-from-scratch pizza and donuts, chicken tenders, and sandwiches. Casey's operates its own distribution center, delivering approximately 70% of the gasoline and 90% of in-store products.The first stores opened in 1968 in small towns throughout Iowa. As of April 30, 2010, nearly 61% of Casey's stores are located in towns with populations under 5,000; 75% are located in towns under 10,000. The company has a strong balance sheet and owns nearly all of its assets, enabling it to take advantage of growth opportunities.

Power of Acquisition

In March 2010, Alimentation Couche-Tard (operator of several convenience store chains, including Circle K) offered $1.9 billion for control of the company, and later announced a proxy fight for control. Casey's rejected Couche-Tard's offer and was successful in September 2010 in retaining its board of directors vs. Couche-Tard's nominated slate.

While Casey's and Couche-Tard were battling for company control, in September 2010, 7-Eleven offered a $2 billion bid for control of the company. Casey's and 7-Eleven engaged in discussions, but in November 2010 elected not to proceed with a merger.

On October 12, 2010, Casey's...