TravelCenters confirms ARKO proposal not superior to BP transaction

TravelCenters of America (TA) confirmed that the Board of Directors previously reviewed and determined that the conditional, unsolicited and unfinanced proposal from ARKO (ARKO) to acquire TA is neither superior to the transaction TA previously agreed to with BP Products North America (BP) nor is it likely to lead to a superior proposal. In a news release and letter to TA, both distributed on March 27, 2023, ARKO restated the terms of its March 14, 2023 proposal and asked TA’s Board to reconsider its proposal. On March 14, 2023, ARKO submitted an unsolicited, non-binding indication of interest to acquire TA. Following a comprehensive review with its financial and legal advisors, the TA Board unanimously concluded that ARKO’s proposal did not constitute a superior proposal and could not reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal. Among the reasons the Board determined that ARKO’s proposal was neither a superior proposal nor likely to lead to a superior proposal was the high level of execution risk resulting from ARKO’s failure to obtain committed financing and that ARKO’s sub-investment grade credit rating was not attractive to Service Properties Trust (SVC), the landlord of most of TA’s properties.