At the time, they had anticipated a January closing. The deal, which was announced in April, is the first step in Sunoco's strategic shift away from company-operated convenience stores to focus on its fuel supply business. Led by the Sunoco fuel brand and the APlus franchise, Sunoco plans to be a leading consolidator in the domestic wholesale fuels business, supplying fuel to a network of more than 8,900 locations of third-party dealers, distributors and other commercial customers, with an enhanced focus on master-limited partnership qualifying income, as CSNews Online previously reported.