Coborn’s, a St. Cloud, Minnesota-based grocery retailer, sold its 14 Holiday-franchised fuel and convenience stores and one developmental site to Holiday Stationstores LLC.

Coborn’s is a 102-year-old, employee-owned grocery retailer with nearly 10,000 employees and 77 grocery stores across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois under the Coborn’s, Cash Wise Foods, Hornbacher’s, Tadych’s Marketplace Foods and Sullivan’s Foods banners.

The company entered the convenience industry in 1986 with Little Dukes branded c-stores and converted to Holiday-franchised stores in 2006.

Coborn’s was founded in 1921 by Chester A. Coborn, who opened a one-room produce store in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. Chris Coborn, a fourth-generation family member, is the current CEO and chairman of the board and his daughter Emily Coborn Wright, vice president of retail support services, and his son Peter Coborn, director of liquor operations, are fifth-generation family members in leadership roles.

Chris Coborn said that the sale is part of Coborn’s overall strategy to focus its growth efforts on the grocery store market.

Matrix Capital Markets Group provided merger and acquisition advisory services to Coborn’s. “Matrix’s efforts have led to the successful sale of our Holiday franchise stores to our long-term franchisor partner, Holiday. The transaction provides continuity to our store employees and customers, as the stores will remain Holiday branded and continue to accept the Coborn’s MORE Rewards program,” Coborn said.

In other acquisition news, Iowa-based Casey’s has acquired Lone Star Food Stores from W. Douglass Distributing Ltd. Douglass Distributing sold the stores to Casey’s after selling its wholesale fuel distribution side to Offen Petroleum.