Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II, ARKO Holdings, GPM Investments Close Business Combination Under New Company ARKO Corp.; Will Trade Under Ticker 'ARKO' Starting Dec. 23
4:38 pm ET December 22, 2020 (Benzinga) Print
Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II, ARKO Holdings Ltd. and GPM Investments, LLC Close Business Combination under New Company ARKO Corp.
NEW YORK, Dec. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II (NASDAQ:HYAC) ("Haymaker"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company and ARKO Holdings Ltd. ("Arko Holdings"), an Israeli public holding company (TASE: AKHO) whose primary asset is a controlling stake in GPM Investments, LLC ("GPM"), a rapidly growing leader in the U.S. convenience store industry, announced today that they have satisfied all closing conditions and completed their previously announced business combination. Under the terms of the business combination agreement, Haymaker and Arko Holdings combined under a new company, ARKO Corp. ("ARKO"). Shares of ARKO common stock and ARKO warrants are expected to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbols "ARKO" and "ARKOW," respectively, beginning on December 23, 2020. The business combination was approved by Haymaker's shareholders on December 8, 2020 and by Arko Holdings' shareholders on November 18, 2020.
Arie Kotler, Chief Executive Officer of ARKO, commented, "Today marks an important milestone as we drive the next chapter of our growth as a U.S.-listed public company. We operate in an attractive and highly fragmented industry and have built a proven platform for acquisitions, as demonstrated by our successful track record of closing transactions. In combination with our attractive remodel program, and the compelling organic growth opportunities we are executing against, we look forward to building on the success we have driven to date, and delivering value for all of our stakeholders."
Remarking from Haymaker, Steven Heyer and Andrew Heyer stated, "We are excited to announce the closing of our combination with Arko Holdings. Arie and his talented team have established a proven platform for growth that will be further strengthened by this combination, and enhanced by the planned multi-year remodel and other organic initiatives. We are looking forward to seeing the team capitalize on the attractive opportunities that lie ahead through established strategic initiatives that are underway."
The business combination was funded through a combination of cash in Haymaker's trust account and a private placement investment of $100 million in convertible preferred stock from affiliates of MSD Partners, L.P. for a total amount of $295 million.
Raymond James & Associates, Inc. served as lead financial and capital markets advisor. Nomura Securities International, Inc., Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, BMO Capital Markets Corp., and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. served as financial advisors and capital markets advisors to Haymaker. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. served as capital markets advisor to Haymaker and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial and capital markets advisor to Arko Holdings. DLA Piper LLP (US), Gornitzky & Co., and Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP served as legal advisors to Haymaker. Greenberg Traurig, LLP and S. Friedman & Co. acted as legal advisors to Arko Holdings.
About GPM:
Based in Richmond, VA, GPM was founded in 2003 with 169 stores and has grown through acquisitions to become the 7th largest convenience store chain in the United States, with approximately 3,000 locations comprised of approximately 1,350 company-operated stores and 1,600 dealer sites to which it supplies fuel, in 33 states and Washington D.C. GPM 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 (both in the retail and wholesale segments) as well as subwholesalers and bulk purchasers.
About Haymaker Acquisition Corp II:
Haymaker was a $400 million blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Haymaker's acquisition and value creation strategy was to identify, acquire and, after its initial business combination, build a company in the consumer, retail, media, or hospitality industries. Haymaker was led by Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman Steven J. Heyer, President Andrew R. Heyer, Chief Financial Officer Christopher Bradley, and Senior Vice President Joseph Tonnos. For more information about Haymaker, please visit www.haymakeracquisition.com.
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