Kum & Go likely to complete Cody's acquisition next week

Kum & Go LC expects to complete its acquisition of Cody's Convenience Stores next week, and employees interested in keeping their jobs must submit to the new owner's screening process.

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go signed an agreement in mid-February to buy Cody's, which has 37 stores throughout southwest Missouri. The acquisition will more than double the number of Kum & Go stores in the region to 71.

Kum & Go Director of Communications Meggan Kring said the more than 300 Cody's employees must meet requirements of the Iowa chain's screening process to retain their jobs, but she declined to provide specifics. Kum & Go, which has stores in 12 states, uses the same hiring criteria for all employees, she said.

"We anticipate keeping as many employees as we can," Kring said, although she did not know how many Cody's workers had applied.

Kring said signage at Cody's stores should change over to the Kum & Go brand next week.

Cody's President and CEO Curtis Jared told Springfield Business Journal last month that his company struck a deal with Kum & Go after negotiations with another potential buyer fell through last summer. Jared said he wanted to focus his attention on his family's commercial real estate firm, Jared Enterprises.

Cody's, which is operated by Cody Ventures LLC, has grown rapidly in recent years, posting 723 percent revenue growth between 2005 and 2007; the company reported $92 million in '07 revenues. Those figures earned it the No. 1 spot on Springfield Business Journal's 2008 Dynamic Dozen list of the area's fastest-growing companies.