Grill Maker Weber to Be Taken Private in $3.7 Billion Deal, With Debt
Weber Inc.
WEBR 23.08%
on Monday said it agreed to a sweetened buyout from BDT Capital Partners LLC, the private-equity firm that took the grill maker public in 2021 and had remained the company’s majority owner.
BDT agreed to pay $8.05 a share, a 24% premium to Weber’s closing price Friday, for the rest of the Palatine, Ill.-based company that it doesn’t own. BDT holds a more-than 85% stake in Weber.
The deal values Weber at roughly $2.3 billion based on the number of its shares outstanding. Weber put the deal’s enterprise value at $3.7 billion, which includes debt.
BDT’s go-private deal comes as grill makers struggle to reclaim the growth they reported during the pandemic-era boom in outdoor cooking. This year, Weber cut its outlook twice, replaced its chief executive and withdrew its financial guidance as restaurants across the nation reopened to full capacity.
Through the nine months ended June 30, Weber had lost $45 million. Weber has said it would report the final quarter of its fiscal year on Wednesday.
Weber’s board has already approved the deal, and interim CEO
Alan Matula
said the transaction provides “immediate and fair value” to the company’s minority shareholders.
Weber said it expects the deal to close in the first half of 2023 pending regulatory approvals.
The deal price is 60% above the stock’s Oct. 24 closing price of $5.03, before BDT revealed an initial bid of $6.25 each for the Weber shares it doesn’t already own.
Weber shares rose 23% to $8.02 in trading Monday. Before Monday, the stock had fallen about 50% this year.
The barbecue brand, in business for 70 years, went public in August 2021 and closed its first day of trading at $16.50 a share, an 18% premium above its opening price in what had been a robust IPO market. At the time, the company’s former chief executive said that “people fell in love with grilling again” after the company reported a 60% rise in sales during the six-month period ended March 31, 2021, amid quarantine and social-distancing orders.
In November 2021, the stock fell below the company’s initial-public-offering price of $14, where it has remained since, falling to as low as $4.82 in October.
BDT is affiliated with merchant bank BDT & Co., which specializes in advising and investing in family- and founder-led businesses. Its founder,
Byron Trott,
is a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive and is known as a favorite banker of famed investor
Warren Buffett.
Write to Colin Kellaher at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Weber Inc.
WEBR 23.08%
on Monday said it agreed to a sweetened buyout from BDT Capital Partners LLC, the private-equity firm that took the grill maker public in 2021 and had remained the company’s majority owner.
BDT agreed to pay $8.05 a share, a 24% premium to Weber’s closing price Friday, for the rest of the Palatine, Ill.-based company that it doesn’t own. BDT holds a more-than 85% stake in Weber.
The deal values Weber at roughly $2.3 billion based on the number of its shares outstanding. Weber put the deal’s enterprise value at $3.7 billion, which includes debt.
BDT’s go-private deal comes as grill makers struggle to reclaim the growth they reported during the pandemic-era boom in outdoor cooking. This year, Weber cut its outlook twice, replaced its chief executive and withdrew its financial guidance as restaurants across the nation reopened to full capacity.
Through the nine months ended June 30, Weber had lost $45 million. Weber has said it would report the final quarter of its fiscal year on Wednesday.
Weber’s board has already approved the deal, and interim CEO
Alan Matula
said the transaction provides “immediate and fair value” to the company’s minority shareholders.
Weber said it expects the deal to close in the first half of 2023 pending regulatory approvals.
The deal price is 60% above the stock’s Oct. 24 closing price of $5.03, before BDT revealed an initial bid of $6.25 each for the Weber shares it doesn’t already own.
Weber shares rose 23% to $8.02 in trading Monday. Before Monday, the stock had fallen about 50% this year.
The barbecue brand, in business for 70 years, went public in August 2021 and closed its first day of trading at $16.50 a share, an 18% premium above its opening price in what had been a robust IPO market. At the time, the company’s former chief executive said that “people fell in love with grilling again” after the company reported a 60% rise in sales during the six-month period ended March 31, 2021, amid quarantine and social-distancing orders.
In November 2021, the stock fell below the company’s initial-public-offering price of $14, where it has remained since, falling to as low as $4.82 in October.
BDT is affiliated with merchant bank BDT & Co., which specializes in advising and investing in family- and founder-led businesses. Its founder,
Byron Trott,
is a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive and is known as a favorite banker of famed investor
Warren Buffett.
Write to Colin Kellaher at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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