CEO-led consortium to take Franchise Group private in $2.6 bln deal (updated)

Franchise

10/05/2023 12:33

(Adds details on deal in paragraphs 2,3,4)
       May 10 (Reuters) - Vitamin Shoppe owner Franchise Group
Inc  FRG.O  would be taken private by a management group led by
CEO Brian Kahn in a deal valued at about $2.6 billion, the
company said on Wednesday. 
    The consortium, which also includes B. Riley Financial Inc
and private equity firm Irradiant Partners, would pay $30 per
share, slightly above stock's closing price of $29.92 as of Jan.
9, a day before reports of a potential management buyout first
surfaced. 
        The offer price represents an equity value of about
$1.05 billion. The company in March disclosed it had received an
unsolicited proposal for a buyout, but did not disclose any
details about the buyer. 
    The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2023,
after which Franchise Group's management team, including Kahn,
would continue to lead the company and run its current portfolio
of retail brands.

 (Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in
Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shailesh Kuber)
 ((DeborahMary.Sophia@thomsonreuters.com;))