Verdict Food Service

Daily Newsletter

08 November 2023

Daily Newsletter

Wheel Topco pulls out of race to acquire TRG

Wheel Topco said that it will not make a bid for TRG due to “market conditions”.

Wheel Topco, owner of UK-based multinational pizza restaurant chain PizzaExpress, has confirmed that it does not intend to make an offer for The Restaurant Group (TRG), the owner of the Wagamama restaurant brand.

Wheel Topco said that this decision is due to “market conditions”.

Last month, Wheel Topco requested diligence information to evaluate a possible offer for its competitor.

At that time, TRG said it would consider Wheel’s proposal but added that there had been no indication of a possible offer.

In a statement, TRG said: “No written or verbal indicative proposal relating to a possible offer, including as to terms, price or form of consideration, has been made to the board of TRG by Wheel Topco.

Prior to Wheel Topco’s request, the US-based private equity company Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire TRG for a consideration of £506m ($620m).

For this acquisition, Apollo agreed to pay TRG stakeholders 65 pence per share in cash.

According to a report by Reuters, the deal has been signed following a lengthy campaign by activist investors for a shake-up of the dining operator.

Apollo has been looking to acquire TRG for many years, as the private equity company believes that TRG has established itself in the casual dining space with its portfolio of concepts and brands.

Robots are well established in consumer goods and packaging industries, though adoption in foodservice is at a nascent stage

Current metaverse applications in the T&T sector either focus on digital marketing campaigns with real-world rewards for consumers, creating immersive experiences on-site for digitally savvy consumers through AR and VR metaverses, or improving operational efficiency through digital twin technology. As the metaverse evolves, it could offer virtual travel opportunities that complement traditional tourism. However, uptake of the metaverse by smaller travel and tourism operators will remain limited until use cases are affordable and provide a guaranteed return on investment.