This is a rotten deal. Speedway has been a good, disciplined, consistent operator. They don't have the nicest sites but they are maintained pretty well and reliable. 7-Eleven is consistently lousy. 7-Eleven's franchise model is the reason for this. I do not know how they will find franchisees to run 4,000 new stores but I am sure they will find a way to bring Speedway down to the quality of their D grade operation.
When 7-Eleven bought the corporate Valeros in CA which were a variety of sizes but veered toward small, they barely kept 1/3 of the stores. Then of the ones they kept they franchised most/all of them out. Then they put 76 branded gas onto them at a high cost and at a split price for debit and credit whereas the corporate Valeros were same price cash or credit and usually one of the lowest prices in a given area.
I really hope this deal does not go through. I figured something was up late last year when Speedway halted store conversions in southern California.