The Superior Express -

After more than a year of negotiations, Bomgaars officials have confirmed the Sioux City, Iowa-based company which operates a store in Superior has acquired 73 stores from Orscheln Farm and Home as part of a larger industry mega-deal. The transaction will make Bomgaars the second largest farm and ranch retailer in the nation based on total store count.

After reviewing the proposed acquisition for more than a year, the Federal Trade Commission approved Tractor Supply Company’s bid to acquire the Orscheln company based in Moberly, Mo. As a condition of mitigating anti-trust concerns, 73 of the Orscheln locations were required to be purchased by a third-party participant to the deal. Bomgaars was one of two companies agreeing to purchase the stores which Tractor Supply had to sell. Included in the Bomgaars purchase was Orscheln’s 330,000 square-foot Moberly distribution center and headquarters which will happen about a year from now. The stores acquired by the Bomgaar firm are located in seven states including Nebraska and Kansas.

The additional stores will bring the total number of Bomgaar’s locations to 180 in 15 states throughout the central United States and add 1,400 employees.

Though relatively new to Superior, the Bomgaar firm was founded in Middleburg, Iowa in 1944 and remains a family owned business. The company had approximately 3,300 employees before the Orscheln acquisition.

Bomgaars currently has stores in the western half of Iowa and in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. With the newly acquired stores, it will expand to Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas as well as in Fairfield and Ottumwa in eastern Iowa.

The acquisition will give Tractor Supply 81 additional stores and bring the company’s total store count to more than 2,100 stores.

The company is retaining Orscheln stores in the Kansas communities of Arkansas City, Coffeyville, Colby, Ellsworth, Eureka, Garnett, Goodland, Independence, Junction City, Marysville, Medicine Lodge, Ottawa, Phillipsburg, Sabetha, Smith Center and Wellington.

Bomgaars will add stores in the Kansas communities of Atchinson, Basehor, Concordia, Dodge City, El Dorado, Garden City, Gardner, Goddard, Great Bend, Hays, Hutchinson, Iola, Lawrence, Louisburg, Manhattan, McPherson, Newton, Parsons, Pratt, Salina and Topeka.

In Nebraska Bomgaars is adding stores in Gothenburg, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, Lincoln, McCook, Nebraska City and York.

In Nebraska Tractor Supply will add stores in Auburn, Broken Bow, Crete, Fairbury, Holdrege, Ord, Seward and Tecumseh.

A much smaller company know as Buchheit is acquiring 12 stores including ones in Beatrice and North Platte. The Missouri based Buchheit company has been family owned since 1934.