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Tag: Arko

Arko names new CFO

Arko has named Robert E. Giammatteo as its chief financial officer and executive vice president, according to a Thursday announcement from the Henrico County-based Fortune 500 company that is one of the nation’s largest convenience store operators and fuel wholesalers.

Giammatteo will start his new role on Jan. 2, 2024. He will also serve as CFO of Arko subsidiary GPM Investments. Giammatteo takes the place of retiring Arko CFO Don Bassell, who has spent 17 years with the company and will stay on until April 2024 to assist with the transition.

Giammatteo joins Arko from Pittsburgh-based grocery chain Giant Eagle, where he was executive vice president, CFO and chief transportation officer. Before that, he served nearly 15 years in executive finance roles with retailers Ascena Retail Group, which owns brands such as Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor and Loft, and VF Corp., which owns The North Face and Vans.

Giammatteo has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He also has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“We expect that Robb’s leadership and incredibly relevant, multisegment retail experience will significantly benefit the Arko team,” Arko Chairman, President and CEO Arie Kotler said in a statement. “As our business grows and continues to expand, his expertise in finance, strategic leadership and transformational management will help us skillfully reach new levels of development and management as one of the leading public companies in the convenience store industry.”

Arko is the parent company of GPM Investments and brought in $72 million in net income in fiscal 2022, compared with $59.4 million the previous year. It has about 1,500 employees in Virginia and nearly 14,000 worldwide.

 

Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: ARIE KOTLER

In June, Arko, the nation’s sixth largest convenience store chain, with more than 1,500 company-operated stores in 30 states, made the Fortune 500 list for the second time, ranked at No. 460, 38 places higher than its 2022 debut.

The parent company of Henrico-based GPM Investments, Arko brought in $72 million in net income in fiscal year 2022, compared with $59.4 million the previous year.
Arko has 1,848 employees in Virginia and 13,901 worldwide, after a series of acquisitions of convenience store chains and fuel wholesalers.

An Israeli native who relocated to the U.S. in 1997, Kotler founded GPM in 2003, sold the business and reacquired it in 2011. In 2020, Arko merged with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. to create Arko Corp., a U.S.-listed public company.

Arko was unsuccessful this year in its attempt to acquire TravelCenters of America, but in June Arko completed its $140.2 million acquisition of the retail and fleet fueling assets of WTG Fuels Holdings, marking the company’s 24th acquisition.

HOBBY/PASSION: My business is my passion. I love to build. I work every day because I enjoy working with people and our great employees, and I am driven by creative, opportunistic dealmaking.

Virginia’s Fortune 500 companies

This year, 24 Virginia companies made the Fortune 500 list of the nation’s 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States by total revenue.

The commonwealth had three more Fortune 500 companies in 2023 than last year, largely due to aerospace and defense contractors RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corp.) and Boeing Co., which both moved their headquarters to Arlington County from out of state last year. This year, they debuted as Virginia’s second- and third-ranked Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, McLean-based global hotelier Hilton returned to the Fortune 500 this year after a two-year slump caused by the pandemic.

This year, 10 of the commonwealth’s Fortune 500 companies are based in Fairfax County, the Virginia locality with the most Fortune 500 companies. The metro Richmond region, including Hanover, Henrico and Goochland counties, has the second most, with five companies.

Notably, Goochland-based used vehicle retailer CarMax Inc. had the biggest rise in 2023, jumping 50 slots to No. 124. Henrico-based convenience store holding company Arko Corp., which debuted on the Fortune 500 last year, moved up almost 40 slots to No. 460.

The biggest slides were seen from Henrico-based insurance holding company Markel Group Inc., which dropped 63 slots to No. 352, and DXC Technology Co. in Ashburn, which dropped 48 slots to No. 255. 

 

36 Va. companies make 2023 Fortune 1000 list

Thirty-six Virginia-based companies made Fortune magazine’s 69th annual Fortune 1000 list, notably including newcomers to the commonwealth Raytheon Technologies Corp. and Boeing Co. as Virginia’s second and third highest-ranking companies. Freddie Mac remained Virginia’s top-ranked company, at No. 45, and 24 Virginia companies made this year’s elite Fortune 500 list.

Released Monday, the Fortune 1000 list ranks the 1,000 largest United States corporations by total revenue, including public companies and private companies for which revenue information is available.

Aerospace and defense companies Raytheon and Boeing both moved their headquarters to Arlington County from out of state last year. In 2022, Raytheon Technologies, then based in Massachusetts, was 58th on the list. Last year, Boeing, based in Chicago at the time, ranked No. 60.

Notably, Goochland County-based used vehicle retailer CarMax Inc. jumped 50 slots on the 2023 Fortune 500 list, rising from No. 174 last year to No. 124 this year. CarMax raked in $660.8 billion in fiscal year 2023 revenue, down 5.5% from the $699.5 billion it brought in in FY22. As of Feb. 28, the retailer had a total of 240 used car stores. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the company opened five retail locations in Chicago; Asheville, North Carolina; Indianapolis; College Station, Texas; and Amarillo, Texas.

Henrico County-based convenience retail holding company Arko Corp., which debuted on the Fortune 500 last year at No. 498, moved up almost 40 slots to No. 460. Arko is the parent company of Richmond-based GPM Investments LLC. One of the nation’s largest convenience store chains, GPM’s brands include Fas Mart and E-Z Mart. Arko reported $9.14 billion in 2022, up from almost $7.42 billion in 2021. In 2022, Arko completed two acquisitions, marking 22 acquisitions since 2013, and announced two pending acquisitions: Transit Energy Group LLC, which closed in March, and Quarles Petroleum Inc., which closed in July 2022.

The biggest slides on this year’s Fortune 500 list were seen from Henrico County-based insurance holding company Markel Group Inc., which dropped 63 slots to No. 352, and DXC Technology Co. in Ashburn, which dropped 48 slots, from No. 207 to No. 255. Markel changed its name from Markel Corp. on May 26. In 2022, Markel reported $49.79 billion in total assets, up from almost $48.48 billion in 2021. DXC Technology reported $14.43 billion in FY23, down from $16.26 billion in fiscal year 2022.

New to the Fortune 1000 list this year, coming in at No. 907, is McLean-based government contractor V2X Inc., which formed from the 2022 merger of Colorado-based government contractor Vectrus Inc. and Mississippi-based The Vertex Co.

Tysons-based real estate investment trust Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. reappeared on the list this year at No. 997, but Lynchburg-based nuclear components and fuel supplier BWX Technologies Inc., which was ranked No. 995 in 2022, was knocked off the 2023 list.

Last year, 34 Virginia companies made on the Fortune 1000 list, with 21 in the Fortune 500.

This year, 10 of Virginia’s Fortune 500 companies are based in Fairfax County, which makes it the Virginia locality with the most Fortune 500 companies. The metro Richmond area, including Hanover, Henrico and Goochland counties, has the second most, with five companies.

These are the Virginia-based companies that made the 2023 Fortune 1000 list, in order of ranking:

45) Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (“Freddie Mac”), McLean

57) Raytheon Technologies Corp., Arlington County

58) Boeing Co., Arlington County

91) Performance Food Group Co., Goochland County

105) General Dynamics Corp., Reston

106) Capital One Financial Corp., McLean

113) Northrop Grumman Corp., Fairfax County

124) CarMax, Goochland County

144) Dollar Tree Stores Inc., Chesapeake

194) Altria Group Inc., Henrico County

242) Dominion Energy Inc., Richmond

255) DXC Technology Co., Ashburn

288) Leidos Holdings Inc., Reston

327) AES Corp., Arlington County

352) Markel Group Inc., Glen Allen

375) Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Newport News

376) NVR Inc., Reston

390) Owens & Minor Inc., Mechanicsville

431) Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., McLean

449) Beacon Roofing Supply, Herndon

452) Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp., McLean

460) Arko Corp., Henrico County

479) Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Reston

486) Genworth Financial, Henrico County

564) CACI International Inc., Reston

679) Maximus Inc., Reston

688) ASGN Inc., Glen Allen

693) Brink’s Co., Henrico County

723) Parsons Corp., Centreville

755) Graham Holdings Co., Arlington County

856) Tegna Inc., McLean

901) Gannett Co. Inc., McLean

907) V2X Inc., McLean

932) NewMarket Corp., Richmond

968) AvalonBay Communities Inc., Arlington County

987) Park Hotels & Resorts Inc., Tysons

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect General Dynamics Corp.’s and Northrop Grumman Corp.’s current addresses and the total number of Fortune 500 companies in Fairfax County.

Arko tries to keep $1.4B TravelCenters of America bid alive

Updated 5:30 p.m. March 28

Henrico County-based Fortune 500 convenience store holding company Arko Corp. is rivaling British oil and gas giant BP in a $1.4 billion bid to acquire Westlake, Ohio-based TravelCenters of America Inc., a publicly traded convenience store chain with 281 retail stores and roadside restaurants in 44 states.

On Monday, Arko sent a letter to the TravelCenters of America’ board asking that it reconsider its acquisition proposal, which Arko called “obviously superior” to the agreement the North American subsidiary of BP reached in February to acquire TravelCenters of America for $1.3 billion, or $86 cash per share. The transaction was unanimously approved by TravelCenters’ board, the company said in a Feb. 16 news release.

Arko, the holding company for convenience store chain GPM Investments LLC, followed up on March 14 with its own unsolicited offer of $92 per share, a deal that was to be funded by a combination of cash, external financing and credit, the company said Monday, identifying itself in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings discussing the deal as “Party G.” On March 22, Arko’s offer was unanimously rejected by TravelCenters’ board on the basis that it “does not constitute a Superior Proposal and could not reasonably be expected to lead to a Superior Proposal,” according to SEC filings. TravelCenters cited findings of its independent directors in executive session, including that “Party G would require significant third-party financing and there was no firm commitment from a potential financing source” amid current economic uncertainty.

Arko on Monday pushed back against those assertions in a letter signed by Chair and CEO Arie Kotler and General Counsel Maury Bricks to TravelCenters’ board, urging it to “engage with, rather than exclude” the company in the sale process. Arko’s offer represents $100 million in additional value to shareholders, and the company cited its record of 23 transactions in the last decade, including acquisitions valued at about $900 million in the last 18 months that have been financed through private equity firm Oak Street Capital.

“We are highly confident in our ability to finance the transaction, and our proposal includes no financing-related conditions. We have obtained assurances from Oak Street Capital to finance a portion of the necessary funds,” Kotler and Bricks wrote. “When TravelCenters engages with Arko, we and Oak Street Capital would be happy to discuss the financing with you.”

Neither Arko nor TravelCenters responded to requests for comment from Virginia Business on Monday. However, on Tuesday, TravelCenters reiterated its stance in a news release, stating that Arko’s offer was neither superior to the agreement it made with BP, nor likely to become superior, and cited what it referred to as “a sub-investment grade credit rating” that was not attractive to Service Properties Trust, a landlord of TravelCenters’ properties, which has a 7.8% majority stake in the company.

TravelCenters of America has 18,000 employees and reported $10.8 billion in total 2022 revenue. Last year, Arko made the Fortune 500 list for the first time and reported $301 million in adjusted earnings, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

 

Arko CFO to retire this year

Arko Corp. Chief Financial Officer Don Bassell will retire by the end of 2023, the Fortune 500 holding company for Henrico County-based convenience store chain GPM Investments LLC announced Tuesday.

“It has been an honor to work alongside our dynamic executive team and employees to grow the company into the leader it is today through many significant milestones, from transformative growth to inclusion on the Fortune 500 list,” Bassell said in a statement.

Bassell has been Arko’s CFO since its merger with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II closed on Dec. 22, 2020. He has served as CFO of GPM since April 2014 and previously served as its CFO from January 2004 to December 2010. From December 2010 to February 2014, he was CFO of Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores LLC.

Bassell will remain as chief financial officer until his successor is in place, and he will stay with the company until approximately April 2024 to help with the transition.

“In 16 years with the company, Don has been a tireless leader and seasoned partner who helped Arko grow, scale and innovate from a regional leader into one of the largest convenience store operators in the country,” Arie Kotler, Arko’s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. “As a leader, he has built a world-class finance department with a deep bench of talent, while helping guide the company through over 20 acquisitions.”

Arko Corp. made the Fortune 500 list for the first time in 2022, ranking No. 498. The company has more than 11,000 employees across 3,000 locations and has completed 22 acquisitions since 2013. In 2021, Arko reported a net income of $59.4 million.

Arko to buy Uncle’s convenience stores for $140M

Arko Corp., a Fortune 500 holding company for Henrico County-based convenience store chain GPM Investments LLC, announced Wednesday it has agreed to acquire the retail, wholesale and fleet fueling assets of Texas-based WTG Fuels Holdings LLC, the owner of Uncle’s convenience stores and Gascard fleet fueling operations.

The $140.4 million acquisition, plus the value of inventory, introduces Arko to Texas, where there are 24 company-operated Uncle’s stores across the western region of the state. The deal also includes WTG’s 57 proprietary Gascard-branded fleet fueling sites and 52 private sites. Gascard’s locations are in West Texas, South Texas and Eastern New Mexico.

“We are committed to creating value for our stockholders with a systematic, convenience-store focused long-term growth strategy focused on disciplined and accretive transactions,” Arko Chairman, President and CEO Arie Kotler said in a statement. “We believe that we add significant value to acquisitions with our excellent integration capacity, which has helped accelerate the pace of dealmaking, which in turn improves our business, creates more efficiencies, and funds future growth —  a virtuous cycle that we believe sets Arko apart as a leading convenience store operator and acquirer of choice. Adding these assets to our family of community brands is perfectly aligned with Arko’s strategy, and we look forward to welcoming WTG employees to our company.”

The acquisition is the company’s fourth in 2022. In October, Arko entered into an agreement to acquire Pride Convenience Holdings LLC.

Combined, WTG, Pride, and TEG are expected to grow Arko’s base of convenience stores by approximately 15%, adding more than 200 retail stores and a pipeline of new build opportunities, according to a news release from Arko.

This acquisition would bring Arko’s fleet from 183 sites at the end of the third quarter to more than 290 upon closing. WTG sold about 85 million gallons of of gas in fiscal 2021.

For the purchase of WTG, Arko plans to finance about $25.4 million of the transaction. Oak Street Real Estate Capital, a division of Blue Owl Capital, expects to fund the remaining $115 million as part of a $1.15 billion agreement announced in May 2021. Oak Street plans to acquire the real estate assets of WTG as part of the transaction, and Arko expects to lease them back from Oak Street.

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

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.

Arko to acquire Transit Energy Group for $375M

Arko Corp., a Fortune 500 holding company for Richmond-based convenience store chain GPM Investments LLC, announced Monday that GPM and some of its subsidiaries have agreed to acquire South Carolina-based Transit Energy Group for approximately $375 million plus the value of inventory.

Transit Energy Group has about 150 convenience stores and fuel supply rights to approximately 200 dealers. GPM will also acquire TEG’s bulk storage, distribution and transportation assets. Arko will have more than 1,530 convenience stores and more than 1,800 wholesale dealer sites once the transaction closes. The acquisition expands the company’s retail footprint into Alabama and Mississippi and will add about 285 million gallons of fuel to the 2 billion gallons Arko sells annually.

“Arko will add value to our stores with their diverse offerings, and ably serve our many loyal retail and wholesale customers,” TEG President and CEO Stephen Lattig said in a statement. “TEG would not be the success it is today if it were not for the dedication of its team members. We are excited that our team and company are joining a growing and dynamic organization.”

Energy investment firm ECP formed TEG, a privately held convenience store and wholesale fuel company in the Southeast United States, in July 2019. TEG owns stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, operating under the Flash Market brand and others.

Of the value of inventory, $50 million is deferred and payable in two annual payments of $25 million, either in cash or in shares of Arko’s common stock (subject to certain conditions) on the anniversaries of the closing.

Arko plans to finance about $60 million of the transaction. Oak Street Real Estate Capital, a division of Blue Owl Capital, expects to fund the remaining roughly $265 million as part of a $1.15 billion agreement announced in May 2021. Oak Street expects to acquire the real estate assets from TEG, and Arko expects to lease those assets from Oak Street. The incremental rent estimate is approximately $16 million.

Arko expects the acquisition to add about $18 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) annually, which it expects to become a $27 million annual run rate after the incremental rent payment to Oak Street.

“We believe this significant, accretive acquisition will drive strategic growth with the addition of an exceptional team, well-known stores and other assets to our family of community brands,” Arko President, Chairman and CEO Arie Kotler said in a statement. “A deal of this magnitude complements our core capabilities and will create long-term value for Arko stockholders and valuable synergies given our existing footprint and proven strategy of adding value to strong local brands while keeping jobs in place.”

Arko Corp. made the Fortune 500 list for the first time in 2022, ranking No. 498. Since 2013, the company has completed 21 acquisitions. In July, Arko acquired Fredericksburg-based Quarles Petroleum, one of the East Coast’s largest fleet-fueling cardlock operators, for $170 million.

Arko now has more than 11,000 employees across more than 3,000 locations. In 2021, the company reported a net income of $59.4 million.