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Irish forecourt retailer Applegreen has reached agreement on the terms of a cash offer from the bidding consortium that is seeking to take the company off the stock market at a value of around €718 million.
The company is pushing ahead with plans for the acquisition by its cofounders, Bob Etchingham and Joe Barrett, and a part of the Blackstone US private equity group.
Under the terms of the deal, shareholders will receive €5.75 per share in cash, a 48.2 per cent premium to the company’s closing share price of €3.88 on December 9th.
The scheme of arrangement must be approved by the High Court and approved by shareholders.
If the deal fails, Applegreen has agreed to an expenses reimbursement agreement that will see third party costs and expenses incurred by the bidders covered up to just under €4.3 million.
Goldman Sachs has also agreed to underwrite Applegreen’s debt, with the group underwriting standby financing for €335 million.
Mr Etchingham, Applegreen’s chief executive, and Mr Barrett, who is chief operations officer, own 41.3 per cent of the company through a vehicle called B&J Holdings. They will remain “significant equity” investors should the proposed offer be accepted. The group also intends to retain its Dublin headquarters.
The duo said they believed private ownership was the appropriate structure for the transition to capital intensive highway projects and electric vehicle charging infrastructure to meet consumer needs.
The board has unanimously recommending the BidCo offer.
“The business has significant scope to further expand its footprint, which we believe will be best achieved in the private arena where the group can benefit from the experience and capital of Blackstone as its partner, whilst maintaining the management and wider team which have driven the business forward to date,” said Applegreen chairman Daniel Kitchen. “The independent board is unanimously recommending the offer from BidCo, as it represents a compelling opportunity for independent shareholders to realise their investment in cash in the near term, and is at a significant premium to the prevailing share price.”