Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. on Monday received a takeover bid valued at more than $2.3 billion from private-equity firm Roark Capital Group.
Roark made an offer of more than $150 a share in recent weeks. Buffalo Wild Wings shares closed Monday at $117.25, giving it a market value of $1.84 billion. The stock jumped 28 percent to $150 after hours following The Wall Street Journal’s report of the bid.
Buffalo Wild Wings has been hurt by rising chicken-wing prices. Its cost of sales improved, however, after it ended a half-price wings Tuesday promotion and replaced it with a “buy-one, get-one” offer for boneless wings. The company raised its forecast for full-year earnings when it reported third-quarter results late in October.
Activist hedge fund Marcato Capital Management has been pressuring Buffalo Wild Wings to change its leadership and improve its restaurant operations. Buffalo Wild Wings CEO Sally Smith said she would retire by the end of the year after Marcato won a bitter proxy battle back in June that put three of its directors on the Buffalo Wild Wings board.
Roark has stakes in other restaurant chains such as Arby’s and CKE Restaurants, who owns Carl’s Jr.
“Buffalo Wild Wings could be appealing to Roark because of the brand’s dominant positioning among sports-bars, potential to improve company-owned restaurant performance with better execution and a stable base of franchise income, said Stifel analyst Chris said.
