Wagamama owner to be taken private by Apollo in £700m deal
Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group is set to become the latest London-listed firm to go private after receiving a bumper bid from private equity giant Apollo.
The casual dining operator said the bid, which represents a 34 per cent premium on the firm’s closing price yesterday, would allow the business to move forward.
Apollo said in a statement this morning “Apollo has closely followed TRG over many years and believes that TRG is a high quality and leading company in the casual dining market with an attractive portfolio of concepts and brands.
“These are all characteristics which are highly valued by Apollo.”
The £701m bid which has been recommended by TRG’s board represented the third Apollo bid, with previous attempts not matching TRG’s valuation.
As well as the chain of Asian noodle restaurants, The Restaurant Group owns Brunning & Price pubs and food concessions at airports – with a total of about 380 sites nationwide. It recently sold off loss-making chains Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito.
TRG’s directors said in a statement this morning: “The TRG Board believes the certain value represented by the cash Acquisition is a superior outcome for TRG Shareholders compared to continuing to pursue the independent strategy of TRG.
“The TRG Board has confidence in the margin accretion plan over the next three years, but is cognisant of the premium, certain value of the Acquisition against the prevailing risk for all consumer-facing businesses with exposure to macro-economic uncertainties.”
