ARKO Petroleum valued at $808 million after shares fall in Nasdaq debut

By Pragyan Kalita and Pritam Biswas

Feb 12 (Reuters) - ARKO Petroleum APC.O shares fell 1.4% in their New York debut on Thursday, giving the fuel distributor a valuation of $807.63 million, as investors remain wary of volatility in the market affecting fresh stocks.

Shares of the company opened at $17.75 apiece, compared with its IPO price of $18 at which it sold 11.11 million shares in its upsized offering on Wednesday to raise $200 million.

Pent-up demand to tap the public markets has driven more companies into the U.S. IPO pipeline, even as a recent bout of volatility in tech and data-services stocks stirred investor worries about post-listing performance.

Shares of a host of companies that went public in New York in recent weeks have taken a hit in the days that followed as investors pulled out.

Shares of York Space Systems YSS.N and Ethos Technologies LIFE.O, companies that went public in 2026, are currently trading well below their IPO price as of Wednesday's close.

"In the current environment, where volatility remains elevated and many IPOs have struggled to hold above their offer price, investors are definitely approaching deals with caution," said Kat Liu, a vice president at IPO research firm, IPOX.

ARKO Petroleum, formed by convenience store chain operator ARKO Corp ARKO.O, focuses on fee-based fuel distribution to affiliated retail sites and third-party dealers under long-term contracts.

It also sells fuel through its fleet fueling locations.

As part of the offering, the parent company will transfer its wholesale and fleet‑fueling operations to ARKO Petroleum, along with the fuel‑supply business for ARKO's retail sites.

ARKO Petroleum operates through three reportable segments - wholesale, fleet fueling and GPMP.

The GPMP unit sells and supplies fuel to nearly all ARKO retail sites at cost plus a fixed margin and charges a fixed fee to certain locations where it does not supply directly.

UBS Investment Bank, Raymond James and Stifel are serving as the lead book-running managers for the offering.