TDR, the buyout firm that is co-owner of PizzaExpress, has until February 10 to launch its proposed bid for Ask Central, sources close to the deal are saying.
However, TDR, which is in the process of raising debt financing for its bid, could get an extension to the deadline from the Takeover Panel.
A source close to Luke Johnson, who competed against TDR in the bidding for PizzaExpress, meanwhile, expressed doubt that the new chairman of Channel 4 would enter the bidding for Ask Central.
The source told the financial news service Mergermarkets.com that the price offered for Ask Central by the Restaurant Group, was at a higher multiple than Johnson's bid vehicle, Venice Bidder, had been prepared to pay for PizzaExpress, and that TDR's counter-bid far exceeded that multiple With that being the case, "I can't see why [Johnson] would want to bid" the source said.
The source also expressed doubt at the level that TDR was prepared to bid, saying: "It's difficult to see how they could make it work at that level." TDR is preparing a bid at 220p a share, valuing Ask Central at £212m, while the Restaurant Group's offer had valued Ask Central at £168m.
Another investment banking source, not involved in the deal, said
TDR's bid for Ask Central was a defensive move to prevent the Restaurant Group from competing with Pizza Express. "It's a spoiling tactic. TDR is desperate to stop the Restaurant Group revitalising its high street offering to prevent competition for Pizza Express," the source said. "They just don't want that transaction to go ahead."
This source also expressed doubt that TDR would actually launch its bid: "They might just want to create enough uncertainty in Ask Central's shareholders' minds that The Restaurant Group's offer is enough."
A TDR source, however, firmly denied this and said it had made good progress in the raising of debt financing. Another investment banking source also said that TDR had been looking at Ask Central for years.
