Mergers & Acquisitions

GPM Renews $1 Billion C-Store Acquisition Funding Deal With Blue Owl

New agreement extends exclusivity through September 2025
Arko gpm
Logos/Arko, GPM

GPM Investments LLC, a subsidiary of Arko Corp., has extended by one year an ongoing agreement with real estate investment and asset management company Blue Owl Real Estate Fund for Blue Owl to make $1.5 billion available for convenience-store acquisitions. The existing agreement—the fifth—expired on Sept. 30, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

On May 3, 2021, GPM entered into a “standby real estate purchase, designation and lease program agreement” with New York-based Blue Owl, then called Oak Street Real Estate Capital Fund. Blue Owl had agreed to purchase up to $1.5 billion of convenience store and gas station properties, cardlock fuel stations and, subject to Blue Owl’s reasonable approval, other types or classifications of property that GPM may acquire.

Following any such purchase, GPM would enter into one or more triple-net lease agreements with Blue Owl, and GPM would lease the properties from Blue Owl based on commercial terms contained in the program agreement.

  • GPM Investments is No. 6 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.

On Sept. 30, GPM and Blue Owl entered into the sixth amendment to the program agreement, which extends the term of the deal and Blue Owl’s exclusivity through Sept. 30, 2025, subject to certain early termination events and provides for up to $1 billion of capacity under the program agreement from May 2, 2023, through the expiration of the exclusivity period, subject to reduction for any amounts Blue Owl provides to GPM in connection with other potential projects.

The other material terms of the program agreement remained substantially unchanged.

Richmond, Virginia-based Arko operates in four segments: retail, which includes c-stores selling merchandise and fuel; wholesale, which supplies fuel to independent dealers and consignment agents; GPM Petroleum, which sells and supplies fuel to its retail and wholesale sites; and fleet fueling, which includes the operation of proprietary and third-party cardlock locations and issuance of proprietary fuel cards that provide customers access to a nationwide network of fueling sites.

Through frequent acquisitions, GPM has what it calls a “family of community brands” made up of more than 25 regional c-store brands, including 1 Stop, Admiral, Apple Market, BreadBox, Express Stop, E-Z Mart, Fas Mart, Jetz, Jiffi Stop, Jiffy Stop Food Marts, Li’l Cricket, Next Door Store, Pride, Roadrunner Markets, Rstore, Scotchman, Shore Stop, TownStar, Village Pantry and Young’s.

Arko is reportedly planning to divest its retail convenience-store operations, and a deal could be valued at around $2 billion. It is working with investment bank Citigroup to sell the package of approximately 1,500 c-stores that it currently holds, according to reports. The company is looking to end its longtime retail expansion strategy amid a slowdown in sales, the reports said.

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