Cumberland Farms, Once EG Group, Draws Reported $8 Billion Bid Interest

Alimentation Couche-Tard may pay nearly $8 billion for Cumberland Farms, The Times reported from the U.K. this week. Cumberland Farms, formerly known as EG Group, declined to comment on the report.

This is not the first round of rumored talks between the two retailers. The Wall Street Journal reported on purported acquisition discussions in 2022 as well.

The reported interest arrives several months after Cumberland Farms filed paperwork for an initial public offering, signaling its intent to keep growing in the U.S. Either outcome — a sale or a listing — would mark another major shift for a retailer that has reshaped itself repeatedly over the past decade.

How did a British fuel operator become Cumberland Farms?

The company traces its roots to 2001, when Zuber Issa founded Euro Garages and bought a convenience store in Bury, England. Fifteen years later, Euro Garages combined with fellow fuel and convenience company European Forecourt Retail Group to create EG Group.

The U.S. expansion began in earnest in April 2018. EG Group agreed to buy Kroger's convenience store business for $2.15 billion. The deal covered 762 stores — including 66 franchise operations — across 18 states, and handed EG Group banners such as Turkey Hill, Loaf 'N Jug and Tom Thumb.

In summer 2019, the company bought Certified Oil stores in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, plus FasTrac in New York. Most notably, it acquired Cumberland Farms, which then operated roughly 568 c-stores in the Northeast and Florida. By that point, EG Group's U.S. footprint included nearly 1,700 stores across 30 states.

The retailer also struck deals with ExxonMobil in Europe and Woolworths in Australia, adding hundreds of stores in multiple countries.

What changed in 2022?

Growth boomed between 2018 and 2022, then uncertainty set in. In a November 2022 trading statement, the retailer said it was focusing on "reducing total net leverage through debt reduction" and was "exploring deleveraging options."

Early 2023 brought reports that the company wanted to sell U.S. assets and its U.K. forecourt business. It ultimately did both. In March 2023, EG Group entered a $1.5 billion sale-leaseback agreement with real estate investment trust Realty Income, under which Realty Income could buy the properties of up to 415 locations. In October of that year, EG Group agreed to sell a majority of its c-stores and fueling locations in the U.K. and Ireland to sister company Asda.

The divestitures kept coming. EG Group sold dozens of Minit Mart and Loaf 'N Jug stores to buyers that included Casey's General Stores — 63 Minit Mart locations went to Casey's in August 2023. Overseas, the retailer sold off its Italian, Australian and French arms, pursuing a strategy of focusing on key markets and strengthening its balance sheet.

Why did EG Group rename itself?

In April 2025, EG Group named New York-based Russel Colaco as its CEO. That August, the company announced it would move its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina, signaling an increased focus on the U.S. market.

The company said it would grow the Cumberland Farms banner by accelerating the rebranding of Tom Thumb stores — a process that began in 2022, when the retailer cited growth potential for the Cumberland Farms brand on the Gulf Coast. EG Group also acquired nine Neon Market stores and rebranded them to Cumberland Farms.

Early this year, the retailer retired the EG Group name and adopted Cumberland Farms for the entire company.

What comes next?

Key dates in the company's U.S. journey:

• 2016: Euro Garages combines with EFR to create what became EG Group.
• April 2018: EG Group buys Kroger's c-stores, including Turkey Hill, Loaf 'N Jug, Kwik Shop, Tom Thumb and Quik Stop.
• July 2019: EG Group buys Cumberland Farms, which operates around 600 c-stores in eight states.
• November 2022: The retailer says it is focusing on debt reduction and exploring deleveraging options.
• March 2023: EG Group enters a $1.5 billion sale-leaseback plan with Realty Income.
• August 2023: EG Group sells 63 Minit Mart stores to Casey's.
• April 2025: Russel Colaco becomes CEO.
• August 2025: The company announces its headquarters move to Charlotte, North Carolina.
• March 2026: EG Group changes its name to Cumberland Farms.
• July 2026: Cumberland Farms files a registration statement to go public on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Neither an IPO nor an acquisition is certain. But either one would amount to one more change in what has been a turbulent decade for the retailer — and would hand a U.S.-focused Cumberland Farms either public-market capital or a new owner with deep convenience-retail experience.