PTRY meaning in Business ?

The Pantry, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTRY) was a publicly traded convenience store chain based in Cary, North Carolina that operated Kangaroo Express stores. The Pantry was founded in 1967 by Sam Wornom and Truby Proctor, Jr. in Sanford, North Carolina The company has been publicly traded since June 1999 and owned by investors since 1987, when then investor Montrose Capital purchased controlling shares from Wornom and Proctor. Recent CEOs have included the former chairman of the board and interim CEO Edwin J. Holman, who took over after Terrance M. Marks, the former president and CEO, resigned in December 2011. (Marks had replaced the longtime former CEO Peter Sodini who had held office since 1996 until retiring in September 2009.) Dennis Hatchell is the current CEO of the company as of 2012.

The Pantry was one of the United States' largest convenience store chains and the leading independently operated chain in the southeastern U.S. As of September 29, 2014, the company operated 1,518 stores in thirteen states under several banners, including its primary operating banner Kangaroo Express. States include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

On December 18, 2014, Quebec based Alimentation Couche-Tard, the parent company of Circle K, announced its plans to acquire The Pantry for $860 million all cash tender. The acquisition was completed in March, 2015. Couche-Tard operates more than 10,000 stores in multiple countries under the Circle K banner. The newly combined company increased Couche-Tard's presence in the Southeast and Gulf Coast. Most Kangaroo Express stores were converted to Circle K stores.