The Restaurant Group effectively waved the white flag this lunchtime as TDR Capital and Capricorn Ventures launched a knock out 220p-a-share bid for Ask Central, valuing the company at £212.9m.
The all cash offer was welcomed by the Kaye brothers, with Adam Kaye commenting: "We believe that the premium offered by Riposte, which reflects our impressive track record of growth, and the certainty of cash, combine to make the Riposte offer very attractive to shareholders."
Alan Jackson, the executive chairman of The Restaurant Group, which had tabled its own 185p-a-share offer in December, indicated that he would not be coming back with a counter bid, saying: "We’ve spent three years creating shareholder value in this company and we don’t want to dilute it by overpaying.
"We wish the Kayes well – it’s a very high price, possibly the highest price paid for a restaurant company for a very long time."
Using the bid vehicle Riposte, the offer beats the only bid currently on the table, from The Restaurant Group, by 20.7%, based on The Restaurant Group’s closing price of 75.5 pence yesterday.
The bid came in at 11.53am, seven minutes before the deadline imposed by The Takeover Panel.
Riposte said that it had received letters of acceptance representing 17.2% of the company from all of the directors of Ask Central and from ‘certain members of the Kaye family’.
Manjit Dale, founding partner at TDR Capital, said: "Adam and Samuel Kaye and their team have built a great business with excellent prospects. We intend to build on their success by developing the leading full-service restaurant chain in the UK."
The offer represents a premium of 54.4% to the closing price of 142.5 pence per Ask Central Share on 11 November, that being the last dealing day prior to Ask Central's announcement confirming preliminary discussions regarding a possible offer for the company.
Riposte will now add Ask to its stake in PizzaExpress, which it bought with Capricorn Ventures, the owners of Nandos.
Observers believe that The Restaurant Group is likely to turn its attention to smaller fast casual brands, such as La Tasca and Tragus, owner of the Café Rouge and Bella Pasta chains.
