ARKO sent a letter to the TravelCenters of America (TA) board regarding its latest bid rejection, during which TA’s stock has reduced by 0.6% and ARKO fell 2.2%, according to Seeking Alpha.
After engaging with ARKO on April 24, TA confirmed that shareholders should vote for its pending merger with BP after claiming ARKO’s proposal is neither a superior proposal nor could it reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal.
However, ARKO wrote another letter to TA on April 25, stating that the company disagrees with TA’s characterization of ARKO’s ability to finance the transaction.
“As we have stated repeatedly, a merger agreement with ARKO would contain no financing contingency, indicating our confidence in the ability to finance the transaction. We have discussed the transaction in detail with Oak Street Capital, among other financing sources, and based on those discussions, we have been confident for weeks that if given access to due diligence or had you included us in your sale process to begin with, we would have been able to sign and close in short order without any financing contingency risk to TravelCenters whatsoever,” said ARKO in its latest letter.
In the letter, ARKO reiterated that it is one of the most acquisitive acquirers of convenience stores and wholesalers of fuel in the U.S.
“In the past 18 months, we have entered into acquisitions constituting approximately $900 million in transaction value, financed in part under our publicly disclosed program agreement with Oak Street Capital. Of those acquisitions, we have never required any financing condition, and since 2013 we have closed on every acquisition for which we have gone under contract,” ARKO stated.
TA shareholders are scheduled to vote on the BP deal on May 10.
Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, TA’s over 18,000 team members serve guests in 281 locations in 44 states, principally under the TA, Petro Stopping Centers and TA Express brands. Offerings include diesel and gasoline fuel, truck maintenance and repair, full-service and quick-service restaurants, travel stores, car and truck parking and other services dedicated to providing great experiences for its guests.
