Franchise Group rises after $2.6 bln take-private deal by CEO-led group

Franchise

10/05/2023 13:30

** Shares of Vitamin Shoppe-owner Franchise Group Inc
 FRG.O  up 2% at $29.50 premarket
    ** Company says it would be taken private by a management
group led by CEO Brian Kahn in a deal valued at about $2.6 bln
    ** Consortium will pay $30/shr, slightly above stock's
closing price of $29.92 as of Jan. 9, a day before reports of a
potential management buyout first surfaced - FRG
    ** The offer price represents an equity value of about $1.05
bln
    ** Deal is expected to close in H2 of 2023 - FRG
    ** In March, company said it had received an unsolicited
proposal for a buyout, but did not disclose any buyer details
    ** Separately, company's Q1 revenue dropped about 3% to
$1.10 bln; posted loss for the quarter ended April 1 vs a
year-ago profit
    ** FRG also withdrew forecasts for FY23
    ** Up to Tuesday's close, stock up 21.3% YTD

 (Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru)
 ((Granth.Vanaik@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vanaik_Granth))