Apollo slurps up Wagamama owner in £700m deal

The restaurant operator behind the Wagamama chain has agreed to a £700m takeover bid from private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Activist investors put the Restaurant Group under intense pressure to accept the 65p-a-share deal, which values the business at £506m plus around £200m of debt. The price is a premium of 67% to the average share price of 39p for year up to the bid, and a premium of 34% to Wednesday’s close of 48p. The Restaurant Group has about 380 restaurants and pubs, a concessions business and a 20% stake in a joint venture operating seven Wagamama noodle bars in America. It also has about 60 franchises around the world. The Times (£)The FT (£)The Guardian