A California-based real estate investment trust has purchased 135 SuperAmerica stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin-the same stores that were bought by two private investment firms bought from Marathon just two months ago.

According to a Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Realty Income Corporation purchased the 135 stores for $248 million. The company said that it used cash and borrowed from its $355 million acquisition credit facility to fund the transaction.

Two months ago, Washington, D.C.-based Acon Investments, LLC, and Fort Worth, Texas-based TPG Capital, LP, bought the 135 stores from Marathon as part of a $900 million package. The sale included Marathon's 74,000 barrel-per-day St. Paul Park refinery and 166 SuperAmerica stores, among other Minnesota assets.

At that time, ACON and TPG formed Northern Tier Energy, LLC, to operate the assets as a stand-alone company.

Under the new agreement, Northern Tier Energy will continue to operate the stores through 15-year lease agreements with Realty Income Corporation. Northern Tier Energy will also pay real estate taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs on the properties.

On average, the stores being acquired have about 3,500 square feet of leasable space and an average of 6.5 multi-pump gasoline dispensers. Realty Income Corporation said that all the stores have long-term operating histories.

Realty Income Corporation was founded in 1969 and owns more than 2,300 properties in the United States, including 20 in Minnesota. It became public in 1994.