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US buyout group Apollo Global Management has agreed to buy Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group for £506mn.
Under the terms of the deal announced on Thursday, Apollo will pay 65p a share in cash for TRG, which also owns the Brunning & Price pub chain.
The take-private deal follows a rolling activist campaign at the casual dining operator in which shareholders, including Hong Kong-based fund Oasis Management, have pushed for a shake-up or sale of TRG’s restaurant assets.
Apollo said it had received an “irrevocable undertaking” from Oasis and New York-based Irenic Capital, the two largest activist shareholders which together own nearly a fifth of the stock, to vote in favour of the deal.
The acquisition implies an enterprise value of £701mn for TRG.
Ken Hanna, TRG’s outgoing chair, said the board was “cognisant of the premium and the certain value of the Apollo offer against the backdrop of a challenging macroeconomic environment” and it planned to “unanimously recommend” the offer to shareholders.
The deal, which is expected to complete in early 2024, will need 75 per cent shareholder approval to proceed.
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