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March 8 (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd IMO.TO , Canada's No.
2 integrated oil producer and refiner, said it agreed to sell
497 remaining company-owned Esso retail stations to five fuel
distributors for about C$2.8 billion ($2.09 billion).
The buyers include Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc ATDb.TO ,
7-Eleven Canada Inc and Parkland Fuel Corp PKI.TO , the company
said on Tuesday.
All the three companies already operate Esso-branded
stations in the country.
Imperial, majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) XOM.N , said
in January 2015 it was evaluating selling the
stations.
Some 1,200 of the company's 1,700 Esso-branded sites operate
under a wholesaler model, where the stations are owned by other
parties but retain the Esso brand and are supplied by Imperial.
Imperial Oil said on Tuesday it expects the sales to close
by the year-end.
($1 = 1.34 Canadian dollars)