AAC

Unit Split

X-energy

AAC
First $9.95
Recent $10.79
8%

Ares Acquisition Corp

Ares Acquisition Corporation (AAC) is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) affiliated with Ares Management Corporation, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. AAC is seeking to pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or sector in North America, Europe or Asia, but does not currently contemplate a company in the fossil fuel industry (upstream, midstream and energy services sub-sectors).

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager operating complementary, integrated investment groups that invest across the credit, private equity and real estate markets. Ares Management’s investment groups collaborate to deliver innovative investment solutions and consistent and attractive investment returns for fund investors throughout market cycles. For more information on ARES, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.

Raised
$725M
CIK
1829432
SPAC Ticker
AAC.U
Merger
X-energy
Focus
Unicorns

SPAC Team

Leadership

David B. Kaplan serves as Chief Executive Officer and is a Co-Chairman of the board of directors of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Mr. Kaplan is a Co-Founder of Ares, a Director and Partner of Ares Management Corporation and Co-Chairman of the Ares Private Equity Group. He is a member of the Ares Executive Management Committee. He additionally serves on the Ares Private Equity Group’s Corporate Opportunities, Asia Private Equity and Special Opportunities Investment Committees. Mr. Kaplan joined Ares in 2003 from Shelter Capital Partners, LLC, where he was a Senior Principal from June 2000 to April 2003. From 1991 through 2000, Mr. Kaplan was a Senior Partner of Apollo Management, L.P. and its affiliates, during which time he completed multiple private equity investments from origination through exit. Prior to Apollo Management, L.P., Mr. Kaplan was a member of the Investment Banking Department at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. Mr. Kaplan currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of New Guitar Center Holdings, Inc., Number Holdings, Inc., the parent entity of 99 Cents Only Stores LLC, CHWR Group GP LLC, the indirect controlling entity of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, Floor and Decor Holdings, Inc. and MYT Netherlands Parent B.V., the parent of Mytheresa GmbH, where he is currently interim Chairman. Mr. Kaplan’s previous public company board of directors experience includes Maidenform Brands, Inc. where he served as the company’s Chairman, GNC Holdings, Inc., Dominick’s Supermarkets, Inc., Stream Global Services, Inc., Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corporation, Smart & Final, Inc. and Allied Waste Industries Inc. Mr. Kaplan also serves on the board of directors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and serves on the President’s Advisory Group of the University of Michigan. Mr. Kaplan graduated with High Distinction, Beta Gamma Sigma, from the University of Michigan, School of Business Administration with a B.B.A. concentrating in Finance. We believe Mr. Kaplan is well qualified to serve as the Co-Chairman of our board of directors due to his knowledge of and extensive experience with leveraged finance, acquisitions and private equity investments, in addition to his service as a director of other public and private companies.

Michael J Arougheti serves as Co-Chairman of the board of directors of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Mr. Arougheti is Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and President, as well as a Director of Ares Management Corporation. He is a member of the Ares Executive Management Committee. He additionally serves as Co-Chairman of ARCC and as a director of ACRE. Mr. Arougheti also is a member of the Ares Credit Group’s U.S. Direct Lending Investment Committee, the Ares Equity Income Opportunity Strategy Portfolio Review Committee and the Ares Operations Management Group. Prior to joining Ares in 2004, Mr. Arougheti was employed by Royal Bank of Canada from 2001 to 2004, where he was a Managing Partner of the Principal Finance Group of RBC Capital Partners and a member of the firm’s Mezzanine Investment Committee. Mr. Arougheti oversaw an investment team that originated, managed and monitored a diverse portfolio of middle-market leveraged loans, senior and junior subordinated debt, preferred equity and common stock and warrants on behalf of RBC and other third-party institutional investors. Mr. Arougheti joined Royal Bank of Canada in October 2001 from Indosuez Capital, where he was a Principal and an Investment Committee member, responsible for originating, structuring and executing leveraged transactions across a broad range of products and asset classes. Prior to joining Indosuez in 1994, Mr. Arougheti worked at Kidder, Peabody & Co., where he was a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions Group. Mr. Arougheti serves on the Board of Directors of Operation HOPE, a not-for-profit organization focused on expanding economic opportunity in underserved communities through education and empowerment. He is additionally a member of the PATH Organization Leadership Council. Mr. Arougheti received a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics, cum laude, from Yale University. We believe Mr. Arougheti is well qualified to serve as the Co-Chairman of our board of directors due to his knowledge of and extensive experience in investment management, leveraged finance and financial services, which give the board valuable industry-specific knowledge and expertise on these and other matters and, in addition to his service as a director of other public companies.

Jarrod Phillips serves as Chief Financial Officer of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Mr. Phillips is a Partner and Chief Accounting Officer of Ares Management Corporation and a member of the Management Committee. Prior to joining Ares in 2016, Mr. Phillips was a Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he focused on financial services and asset management assurance and advisory services. Mr. Phillips holds a B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Accounting. Mr. Phillips holds a CPA license in the State of California.

Allyson Satin serves as Chief Operating Officer of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Ms. Satin is a Managing Director of Ares Management Corporation and serves as a member of the Ares Diversity and Inclusion Council. Previously, Ms. Satin was a Principal in the Ares Private Equity Group. Prior to joining the Ares Private Equity Group in 2009, Ms. Satin was an investment banking Analyst in the Global Financial Sponsors Group at Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers). Ms. Satin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Number Holdings, Inc., the parent entity of 99 Cents Only Stores LLC. Ms. Satin holds a B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business in Business Administration.

Peter Ogilvie serves as Executive Vice President of Strategy of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Mr. Ogilvie is a Partner at Ares Management Corporation and Head of the Ares Corporate Strategy Team. Mr. Ogilvie co-founded the Corporate Strategy Team to drive growth and development across the Ares platform through acquisitions, balance sheet investments, partnerships and new team onboarding. He has led the Corporate Strategy Team’s efforts on numerous transactions including the acquisition of American Capital, Ltd. by Ares Capital Corporation, the business development company managed by Ares, and the formation of Ares’ business partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Mr. Ogilvie serves as a board member for LightPoint Financial Technology and Ares Australia Management. Mr. Ogilvie joined Ares in 2007 in the U.S. Direct Lending Group and previously worked in the Leveraged Finance and Restructuring Group at Credit Suisse. Mr. Ogilvie holds a B.A. from Yale University in Economics.

Stephen Davis has agreed to serve as a director of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Mr. Davis currently serves as a senior strategic advisor and the interim director, China Country Office, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since September 2020. Mr. Davis serves as co-chair of the World Health Organization’s Digital Health Technical Advisory Group and is a member of numerous boards and advisory committees. Mr. Davis is a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a Distinguished Fellow at the World Economic Forum, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, Mr. Davis served as the president and Chief Executive Officer of PATH, a leading global health innovation organization from June 2012 to January 2020. Mr. Davis also served as the Director of Social Innovation at McKinsey & Company, a global consultancy firm from 2010 to 2012. Mr. Davis served as the Chief Executive Officer of Corbis Corporation, a digital media pioneer from 1997 to 2007. Mr. Davis was an attorney at K&L Gates from 1988 to 1993. Mr. Davis received a B.A. in Religion and Politics from Princeton University, a M.A. in China Studies from the University of Washington and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.

Kathryn Marinello has agreed to serve as a director of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Ms. Marinello is the Chief Executive Officer of PODS, a moving and storage company. From January 2017 to June 2020, Ms. Marinello was the President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the board of directors of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., the parent company of the Hertz Corporation, which operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental brands and is one of the largest worldwide vehicle rental companies. In May 2020, Hertz filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2014 to 2017, Ms. Marinello was a consultant to Ares Management LLC where she assisted in targeting and acquiring companies. Ms. Marinello also served as Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stream Global Services, Inc., a business process outsourcing service provider and a former Ares portfolio company from 2010 to March 2014. From 2006 to 2010, Ms. Marinello served as Chair, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ceridian Corporation, a provider of human resources software and services. From 1997 to 2006, Ms. Marinello held several senior roles at General Electric Co. Ms. Marinello currently serves as Chairperson of the board of directors of Concentrix Corporation (NASDAQ: CNXC), and as a member of the board of directors of AB Volvo. She previously served as a member of the boards of directors of The Nielsen Company B.V. from 2014 to 2017, General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) from 2007 to 2016, and RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ: RP) from 2015 to 2017. Ms. Marinello holds a Master of Business Administration from Hofstra University and a Bachelor of Arts from State University of New York at Albany.

Felicia Thornton has agreed to serve as a director of Ares Acquisition Corporation. Ms. Thornton currently serves as Vice Chairman of the board of directors of Number Holdings, Inc., the parent entity of 99 Cents Only Stores LLC, a deep-discount retailer, having previously held executive positions at 99 Cents Only Stores LLC, including Interim Chief Executive Officer from June 2019 to March 2020 and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer from November 2015 to August 2018. Ms. Thornton currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of PACTIV Evergreen Inc., a fresh food packaging company, where she currently serves as the chair of the Audit Committee, Convergint Technologies Group L.P., a global independent security integration company, where she currently serves as the chair of the Audit Committee, CoolSys, Inc., a private refrigeration and HVAC servicing company, where she currently serves as chair of the Audit Committee and Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., a specialty retailer of hard surface flooring and related accessories, where she currently serves as the chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Previously, Ms. Thornton served as Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer for DeMoulas Super Market, Inc., (“DeMoulas”), a supermarket chain, from June 2014 to December 2014 and as the Chief Executive Officer of Knowledge Universe U.S., a private childhood education company, from 2006 to 2011. Ms. Thornton served as Chief Financial Officer and led overall strategy for Albertsons, a grocery and drugstore company, from 2001 to 2006. Ms. Thornton served in a variety of executive strategic and financial roles from 1992 to 2000 for Ralphs Grocery Company, Inc., a grocery store chain, and for Fred Meyer, a retail supermarket company, both of which eventually became part of The Kroger Company, a global retailer of grocery, multi-department, discount, convenience and jewelry stores, where Ms. Thornton served as Group Vice President responsible for retail operations. Ms. Thornton has served as a member of the boards of directors of public and private companies, including Nordstrom, Inc., a luxury retailer, from November 2010 to May 2012 and for Knowledge Universe Education, Inc. from November 2006 to May 2012. Ms. Thornton is a fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors and a member of the Latino Corporate Director Association. Ms. Thornton received a B.S. in Economics from Santa Clara University and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.