Form 8-K

8-K — Ares Acquisition Corp III

Accession: 0001104659-26-099241

Filed: 2026-08-20

Period: 2026-08-20

CIK: 0002128115

SIC: 6770 (BLANK CHECKS)

Item: Other Events

Item: Financial Statements and Exhibits

Documents

8-K — tm2622817d1_8k.htm (Primary)

EX-99.1 — EXHIBIT 99.1 (tm2622817d1_ex99-1.htm)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES

AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington,

D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or

15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event

reported): August 20, 2026

ARES

ACQUISITION CORPORATION III

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Cayman

Islands

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

001-43375

(Commission

File Number)

98-1929025

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

245

Park Avenue, 44th Floor

New

York, NY

(Address of principal executive offices)

10167

(Zip Code)

(212)

710-2100

Registrant’s telephone number, including

area code

Not Applicable

(Former

name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check

the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant

under any of the following provisions:

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under

the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under

the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under

the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under

the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities

registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title

of each class

Trading

Symbol(s)

Name

of each exchange on

which registered

Units, each consisting of one Class A Ordinary Share, $0.0001 par value, and one-tenth of one redeemable warrant

AAC.U

New

York Stock Exchange

Class A Ordinary Shares

AAC

New

York Stock Exchange

Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A Ordinary Share at an exercise price of $11.50

AAC

New

York Stock Exchange

Indicate

by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405

of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging

growth company x

an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying

with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Item 8.01. Other Events.

On August 20, 2026, Ares

Acquisition Corporation III (the “Company”) announced that the holders of the Company’s units (the “Units”)

may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A ordinary shares”), and

warrants included in the Units commencing on August 20, 2026. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-tenth of one redeemable

warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Any Units not separated will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”)

under the symbol “AAC.U.” Any underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that are separated will trade on the NYSE under

the symbols “AAC” and “AAC WS,” respectively. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units

and only whole warrants will trade. Holders of Units will need to have their brokers contact Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company,

the Company’s transfer agent, in order to separate the holders’ Units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants.

A copy of the press release

issued by the Company announcing the separate trading of the securities underlying the Units is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

99.1 Press Release, dated August 20, 2026.

104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL Document)

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: August 20, 2026

ARES ACQUISITION CORPORATION III

By:

/s/ Anton Feingold

Name: Anton Feingold

Title: Secretary

EX-99.1 — EXHIBIT 99.1

EX-99.1

Filename: tm2622817d1_ex99-1.htm · Sequence: 2

Exhibit 99.1

Ares Acquisition Corporation III Announces the

Separate Trading of its Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants Commencing August 20, 2026

NEW YORK – August 20, 2026 – Ares

Acquisition Corporation III (NYSE: AAC.U) (the “Company”), a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose

of entering into a combination with one or more businesses, today announced that, commencing August 20, 2026, holders of the 39,500,000

units sold in the Company’s initial public offering (the “Units”), completed on July 1, 2026, may elect to separately

trade the Class A ordinary shares and warrants included in the Units. Those Units not separated will continue to trade on the New

York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol “AAC.U,” and the Class A ordinary shares and warrants that

are separated will trade on the NYSE under the symbols “AAC” and “AAC WS,” respectively. No fractional warrants

will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. Holders of Units will need to have their brokers contact

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the Company’s transfer agent, in order to separate the Units into Class A

ordinary shares and warrants.

The Units were initially offered by the Company

in an underwritten offering. J.P. Morgan and Jefferies acted as joint book-runners and representatives

of the underwriters for the offering. A registration statement relating to the Units and the underlying securities was declared effective

by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 29, 2026.

The offering was

made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the final prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from: J.P. Morgan Securities

LLC, 270 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10017, Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, and Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus

Department, 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, by telephone at (877) 821-7388, or by email at Prospectus_Department@Jefferies.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer

to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of the Company, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state

or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities

laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Ares Acquisition Corporation III

Ares Acquisition

Corporation III is a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by a subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) (“Ares”),

a leading global alternative investment manager. Having completed a $395 million initial public offering in July 2026, the Company

seeks to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination and is expected

to benefit from its affiliation with Ares through access to corporate relationships, industry sector expertise and value creation capabilities.

For more information, please visit: https://www.ares.com/us/businesses-and-products/our-products/aac-iii.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release

contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements,” including with respect to the anticipated use of the net

proceeds. No assurance can be given that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject

to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of

the Company’s registration statement and prospectus for the Company’s offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on

the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or

changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Contacts

Investor Contact

IRAACIII@ares.com

+1 888-818-5298

Media Contact

media@ares.com

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Security Exchange Name

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Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units

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Security Exchange Name

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