Arko to buy Pride convenience stores for $230M

Arko Corp., a Fortune 500 holding company for Richmond-based convenience store chain GPM Investments LLC, announced Monday it has agreed to acquire Pride Convenience Holdings LLC, which operates 30 Pride convenience stores in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut.

The $230 million acquisition, plus the value of inventory, would bring Arko into Massachusetts and a total of 34 states to date.

“Our agreement to acquire Pride highlights Arko’s continued focus on creating long-term shareholder value by growing our core convenience store business,” Arko President, Chairman and CEO Arie Kotler said in a statement. “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. We look forward to welcoming Pride’s employees to our family of community brands and working together to enhance the business.”

It’s the second acquisition for Arko in as many months. In September, the company acquired South Carolina-based Transit energy group.

For the purchase of Pride, Arko plans to finance about $28 million of the transaction. Oak Street Real Estate Capital, a division of Blue Owl Capital, expects to fund the remaining $202 million as part of a $1.15 billion agreement announced in May 2021. Oak Street plans to acquire the real estate assets from Pride as part of the transaction, and Arko expects to lease them back from Oak Street.

Pride has 31 convenience stores, including two high-volume travel centers and two city stop locations, with a third that broke ground in July. In fiscal year 2021, Pride sold 74.2 million gallons of gas.

Arko Corp. made the Fortune 500 list for the first time in 2022, ranking No. 498.