The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused 7-Eleven of violating an anticompetitive acquisition order by acquiring a fuel outlet in St. Petersburg, Florida without giving the commission prior notice. The order in question was mutually agreed upon by the FTC and 7-Eleven.
According to a press release issued by the FTC, this acquisition has breached a consent order signed in 2018, which permitted 7-Eleven to impose higher fuel prices. The convenience retailer allegedly submitted false compliance reports to the commission and withheld crucial information before making the purchase. In light of this unlawful acquisition, 7-Eleven may face a maximum penalty exceeding $77 million. The FTC is seeking civil penalties for the four years during which the outlet was acquired.
As per documents released by the FTC, this consent order originated from 7-Eleven's attempt to purchase 1,100 retail fuel outlets from Sunoco at an estimated cost of $3.3 billion. The commission had argued that such a move would contravene antitrust laws leading to unjust fuel pricing. Investigations provided in the complaint suggested that this acquisition would negatively affect competition in 76 local markets along with 20 metropolitan statistical areas. Moreover, it would have potentially established a monopoly across 39 markets. As part of their agreement, it was mandated for 7-Eleven to sell off 26 of its retail fuel outlets back to Sunoco and for Sunoco to retain ownership of another 33 fuel outlets originally targeted for purchase by 7-Eleven.
In recent litigation brought forward by the FTC, it alleges that since 2018, two proposed acquisitions from 7-Eleven violated antitrust laws as per commission regulations. It specifically points out that the St. Petersburg Outlet was explicitly listed under terms outlined in their Consent Order where any acquisition required prior notification to be given to them first before proceeding further — effectively claiming that the convenience retailer broke antitrust laws. The commission's research revealed that 7-Eleven's parent company, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., accumulated total revenues exceeding $80 billion in 2022 — indicating a financial capacity to repay for any infringements on antitrust regulations. In an attempt to discourage other companies from replicating similar practices, the FTC aims to enforce stricter guidelines on 7-Eleven through this litigation.
