Apr. 24—Two family owned convenience store chains are joining forces, bringing together companies whose aggressive expansions have made them familiar names in the Colorado Springs area and along the Front Range over the last several years.

Utah-based Maverik and its parent company, FJ Management, are acquiring Kum & Go, headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Kum & Go is part of the Krause Group, whose portfolio of business interests includes retail, logistics, Italian wineries and hospitality, real estate, agriculture and soccer clubs.

Terms of the deal, which was announced Friday and is expected to be completed in the coming months, weren't disclosed, according to a news release. The deal includes Maverik and FJ Management's acquisition of the Krause Group's Solar Transport, a tank truck carrier and logistic provider.

When completed, Maverik and Kum & Go's combined footprint will include more than 800 convenience stores in 20 states, the news release said.

But what the merger of Maverik and Kum & Go might mean in Colorado Springs and elsewhere wasn't immediately known.

Will Maverik and Kum & Go stores be re-branded and operate under a single name? Will the stores continue to do business under separate brands? Will any Maverik or Kum & Go stores close as a result of the deal? And what changes, if any, might customers experience when they pump gas or run inside for food?

"We do not have any further information to share at this time," Maverik spokeswoman Michelle Monson said via email in response to Gazette questions, a statement echoed by Kum & Go spokeswoman Taylor Boland.

The deal comes a little more than a decade since Kum & Go, founded in 1959, announced it would expand to Colorado Springs and opened its first store in the city in May 2012. Since then, the chain has added nearly 30 Springs-area locations and several stores in metro Denver.

Before it expanded to the Springs and later to Denver, Kum & Go locations in Colorado were limited to cities such as Boulder, Brighton, Greeley and Longmont and several mountain towns and Western Slope communities.

Maverik, meanwhile, opened its first store in Colorado Springs in late 2017 and now has seven area locations, according to its website. Maverik also has stores in Aurora, Castle Rock, Denver, Littleton, Thornton and Fort Collins, among other cities.

The merger of Maverik and Kum & Go comes at a time of increased competition among convenience store chains.

In the Colorado Springs area, 7-Eleven long has dominated the market, along with Circle K, Loaf 'N Jug and several independent stores, among others.

After the arrival of Kum & Go and Maverik, other chains that have expanded in the Springs area include Murphy Express and United Pacific.

Another newcomer is now on the way.

QuikTrip, based in Tulsa, Okla., has one location under construction in Monument and recently submitted plans to Springs city government officials that call for stores on the site of the Polo Center retail center, northeast of Academy and Palmer Park boulevards, and at Academy and Flintridge Drive.

Stores opened by Kum & Go and Maverik, among other new entries, typically have been in the neighborhood of 5,000 square feet — much larger than older 7-Eleven locations.

In addition to fuel sales, newer convenience stores tout freshly made food and expanded menus that include breakfast sandwiches, subs, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, burritos, salads, wraps and cookies.