Apollo-owned vehicle to buy Wagamama-owner Restaurant Group for $623.4 mln (updated)

Restaurant

12/10/2023 07:26

(Adds deal details in paragraphs 2,3)
       Oct 12 (Reuters) - An Apollo Global  APO.N -owned and
managed vehicle will acquire Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group
 RTN.L  for 506 million pounds ($623.44 million) in cash, the
companies said on Thursday.
    Under the terms of the deal, The Restaurant Group (TRG)
shareholders will get 65 pence for each share held, which
represents a premium of about 34% to the stock's last closing
price.
    The company's directors have unanimously recommended that
shareholders vote in favour of the deal, which has an enterprise
value of 701 million pounds.
    Over the past year, TRG, which owns the popular Japanese
chain Wagamama, has struggled with financial losses. It said in
September Chairman Ken Hanna would step down after months of
pressure from activist investors to change management and
improve profitability.
    It agreed to sell its loss-making Frankie & Benny's and
Chiquito brands to Cafe Rouge owner Big Table Group last month
in a bid to bolster margins and cut debt.
    In a statement, private equity firm Apollo said it believes
that the development of TRG will be best served as a private
business, with access to capital and the benefit of a long-term
investment approach. 
    ($1 = 0.8116 pounds)

 (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita
Bhattacharjee and Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Eva.Mathews@thomsonreuters.com;))