TGI Fridays and Hostmore, the company that runs TGI Fridays in the UK, said they’re going to join together. This deal is worth a lot of money, around 177 million pounds, which is about $220 million. If everything goes as planned, TGI Fridays will start selling its shares on the London Stock Exchange with the symbol “TGIF.”
Even after the merge, TGI Fridays will still be based in Dallas, Texas. The person in charge, CEO Weldon Spangler, will stay in his position.
The combined company will have 189 restaurants in the US and the UK. Other businesses will run about 400 more TGI Fridays around the world in 44 different countries.
This merger needs approval from the authorities, and if they give the green light, it should happen in the third quarter.
Back in 2014, another company called TriArtisan Capital Advisors bought TGI Fridays from its previous owner for a lot of money. They also own part of other restaurants like P.F. Chang’s and Hooters.
TGI Fridays wanted to become a public company in 2019, but that plan didn’t work out because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic made it hard for businesses, especially restaurants.
In 2022, TGI Fridays made more money, about 3.6% more, reaching $75.2 million in revenue. But they’ve been trying hard to improve because fewer people are going to malls and eating out at casual restaurants.
Now, TGI Fridays is going back to what it’s known for: its bar. Alcoholic drinks make more money for restaurants than food does. They also hired someone new to help run things in the US.
Earlier this year, TGI Fridays closed down 36 restaurants in the US because they weren’t doing well.
