Restaurant Group (LON: RTN) has agreed a 65p/share bid from US private equity firm Apollo Global Management. This values the Wagamama owner at £506m or £701m including debt. The share price jumped 37.6% to 66.55p.
Management says that the current economic uncertainty makes the certain value provided by the bid an attractive prospect. The bid multiple for 2023 is 33, falling to 22 in 2024. The bid is more than double the share price at the beginning of the year.
Restaurant Group has previously agreed the sale of the Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito restaurant chains to Big Table Group for £1m. Restaurants Group will also contribute £7.5m to Big Table Group depending on working capital adjustments.
The group owns the Wagamama and Brunning & Price chains. Wagamama already has a presence in the US and the group owns 20% of a business owning seven Wagamama restaurants, as well as franchised outlets.