RICHMOND, Va. — Arko Corp.’s retail arm GPM Investments LLC has agreed to acquire Pride Convenience Holdings LLC, which operates 31 convenience stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut. This acquisition expands ARKO’s convenience-store footprint into Massachusetts for the first time, making it the 34th state in which the company will operate.
Private equity firm Arclight Capital Partners LLC, Boston, had acquired Pride in early 2022.
Pride operates c-stores in the Northeast with large format stores, including two high-volume travel centers for long-haul truckers and two City Stop locations that cater to short-haul truckers. Additionally, Pride operates a centralized kitchen that provides fresh baked goods and food daily to all Pride stores.
“Pride is a success because of its dedicated team members, and we are excited for the opportunity to join a growing, long-term focused convenience-store company with the scale Pride needs to continue enhancing our excellent offerings and strong brand name,” said Marsha Medina, chief executive officer of Pride Stores, Springfield, Mass.
Pride stores are differentiated by a well-known fresh-food selection supported by its corporate kitchen and bakery, which provides bakery items, sandwiches and other items to in-store Pride Kitchens and as grab-and-go options made fresh daily. Additionally, Pride stores include other well-known offerings, including Subway and Chester’s Chicken franchises, along with seven high-volume beer and wine operations. Drive-through service at some stores and utilization of popular delivery options such as Door Dash, Uber and Grub Hub underscore the draw of these foodservice options in the region.
“Our agreement to acquire Pride highlights Arko’s continued focus on creating long-term shareholder value by growing our core convenience store business,” said Arie Kotler, Arko’s chairman, president and CEO. “We believe Pride stores are top-tier assets, with a focus on excellent customer service and a quality loyalty program, and we further believe that we can add value to these assets through our operational and merchandising abilities and scale.”
The total purchase price for Pride is approximately $230 million plus the value of inventory. At closing, Arko intends to finance from its own sources approximately $28.0 million of the cash consideration plus the value of inventory and other closing adjustments. The remaining approximately $202 million is expected to be funded by Oak Street Real Estate Capital, a division of Blue Owl Capital as part of the existing $1.15 billion agreement with the company. The company would lease the real-estate assets from Oak Street.
Using estimated forward-looking non-GAAP measures, the company expects that this acquisition will add approximately $12.2 million of adjusted EBITDA on an annual run rate including synergies, after incremental annual rent of approximately $12.2 million to be paid to Oak Street for the lease.
- GPM is No. 6 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count. Transit Energy Group is No. 65. Pride Stores ranked No. 188 with 32 c-stores.
Founded in 2003, GPM has grown through acquisitions to become the sixth largest convenience store chain in the United States, with approximately 2,950 locations, including approximately 1,350 company-operated stores and approximately 1,600 dealer sites to which it supplies fuel in 33 states and Washington, D.C.
The company operates in three segments: retail, which consists of fuel and merchandise sales to retail consumers; wholesale, which supplies fuel to third-party dealers and consignment agents; and GPM Petroleum, which supplies fuel to GPM and its subsidiaries selling fuel, as well as sub-wholesalers and bulk purchasers.
Brands include Fas Mart, Shore Stop, Scotchman, BreadBox, Young's, Li'l Cricket, Next Door Store, Village Pantry, Apple Market, Jiffi Stop, Admiral, Roadrunner Markets, Jiffy Food Marts, E-Z Mart, 1 Stop and TownStar.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.