NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GNK Holdings LLC, together with Marcus Lemonis (collectively, the “Group”), today delivered a letter to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of BARK, Inc. (NYSE: BARK) (“BARK” or the “Company”). On January 14, 2026, the Group submitted a preliminary, non-binding indication of interest to acquire BARK in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.10 per share.

The full text of the letter follows:

February 11, 2026

To the Members of the Special Committee
of the Board of Directors of Bark, Inc.
c/o Allison Koehler, Chief Legal Officer
20 Jay Street, Suite 940
Brooklyn, New York 11201

Re: Our Superior Proposal to Acquire the Company

To the Members of the Special Committee:

I am writing on behalf of GNK Holdings LLC and Marcus Lemonis (collectively, the “Group”). As you know, BARK, Inc. (the “Company”) announced on January 9, 2026 that it had received a non-binding “take private” proposal from the Company’s CEO and his affiliates, valued at $0.90 per share. On January 14, 2026, the Group submitted a superior proposal: a non-binding indication of interest to acquire the Company in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.10 per share, reflecting a 22% premium over the previously announced related-party proposal.

The Company announced the formation of the Special Committee on January 9, 2026, and on February 2, 2026, further announced that the Special Committee had retained legal and financial professionals to “assist the Special Committee in the review and evaluation of the previously disclosed preliminary non-binding indicative proposal letters the Company has received,” which specifically included the Group’s proposal “to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock not already beneficially owned by the GNK/Lemonis Group.” See BARK Press Release, Feb. 2, 2026.

Nevertheless, despite your promise to investors that you would “review and evaluate” our proposal, and despite our repeated outreach, you have yet to engage in any substantive discussions with us. To the contrary, the Company initially ignored our offer, and it is now attempting to silence and handcuff the Group by demanding that we sign a coercive non-disclosure agreement.

On Friday, February 6, 2026, we received a proposed NDA from your outside counsel. The proposed agreement starts with a false premise: “You have requested information from BARK, Inc. (the “Company”) in connection with your consideration of a possible negotiated transaction between us.” Not true. The Group made its initial proposal based on publicly available information, and it has not requested any non-public information from the Company.

In exchange for information that we did not request, you are seeking a broad “standstill” agreement preventing the Group from making any public offers to acquire the Company without your explicit approval, or making any shareholder proposals, or “otherwise seek[ing] or propos[ing] to influence, advise, change or control the management, board of directors, governing instruments, affairs or policies of the Company.”

Moreover, you are seeking to silence us as well, by prohibiting the Group from “mak[ing] any public disclosure, or tak[ing] any action that could reasonably be expected to require you or the Company to make a public disclosure, with respect to any of the matters set forth in this Agreement.” And if we don’t like the terms of the proposed agreement, you will permit us to request waivers or amendments, “but only privately to the Company and not publicly.”

This is absurd, and we absolutely will not agree to this. Moreover, we question the appropriateness of such an agreement under Delaware law. See, e.g., In re Complete Genomics, Inc. Shareholder Litig., C.A. No. 7888–VCL (Del. Ch. Nov. 27, 2012) (TRANSCRIPT).

We publicly announced our intentions in a press release on January 14th, we will continue to speak publicly about our desire to acquire the Company, and we emphatically believe that our proposal offers the best opportunity to maximize shareholder value – the touchstone of the Special Committee’s fiduciary obligations.

We reiterate our proposal and look forward to your response. Furthermore, we intend to make this letter public. The market deserves to know about our interest in acquiring the Company and the intentions of the Committee regarding the CEO’s competing $0.90 bid. To date, there has been no mention of a board rejection of that low ball, insider offer.

Respectfully,
PALLADIUM CAPITAL GROUP, LLC

Michael Hartstein
Director of Investment Banking

As Financial Advisor to GNK Holdings LLC and Marcus Lemonis

About GNK Holdings LLC

GNK Holdings LLC is a private investment firm focused on consumer, retail, and special situations investments, with an emphasis on operational value creation and disciplined capital deployment.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any expected future results, performance, or achievements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and neither the Group nor its affiliates assume any duty to update forward-looking statements. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “plan,” “will,” “would’’ and other similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the proposed transaction involving BARK, the proposed terms and timing thereof, the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, the receipt of required approvals and the availability of financing. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and assumptions as of the date of this release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Group’s control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of the Group. Except as required by law, the Group undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations.

Contacts: 

Media:
Reevemark
Renee Soto / Jacqueline Zuhse / Erin Craig
TeamGNK@reevemark.com