The deal follows an increased and final offer from the US investment management company following a court meeting and general meeting yesterday (30 January) where 93.5% of shareholders voted in favour of the deal.
In November, Fortress made an offer for Loungers at 310p per share, valuing the business at around £338m, which was rejected. Earlier this month it increased its offer, valuing the group at £354.4m.
The increased value implies an enterprise value of approximately £366.6m and is a multiple of approximately 8.4 times Loungers’ FY24 adjusted EBITDA (before site pre-opening costs) and of approximately 9.4 times Loungers’ FY24 adjusted EBITDA after site preopening costs.
At the time of the increased offer, Loungers chairman Alex Reilley said: “We are very pleased that Fortress has decided to increase its offer, making it even more compelling for Loungers shareholders and reinforcing the Loungers directors’ recommendation that they should vote in favour of the acquisition.”
Loungers, which owns the Lounge, Cosy Club, and Brightside brands, operates around 280 sites.
It was founded by friends, Dave Reid, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop in Bristol in 2002 and has gone on to be one of the hospitality sector’s biggest success stories of the past two decades.
