Closing the lid
Weber, the grill-maker beloved by barbecue enthusiasts around the world, is being taken private by BDT Capital in a buyout deal worth ~$3.7bn, capping off a brief 16-month spell as a public company.
Originally a metal works founded all the way back in 1893, the Weber we know today got its start in the 1950s. George A. Stephen, frustrated with the state of outdoor cooking, chopped a metal buoy in half, added air vents and legs and created the original kettle barbecue, a design that’s lasted ever since, and helped take Weber to nearly $2bn of sales and a successful IPO last year.
But this year, things have cooled for the grill-makers.
After raising $280m during the equity market boom, Weber, with their range of state-of-the-art grills, restaurants and recipe books, looked like a tasty proposition. But since then sales have lagged in each quarter of 2022, with investors subsequently offloading their shares. Indeed, the company’s market cap had fallen by more than 70% in a year before BDT made their offer.
The terms of the deal are particularly striking. BDT clearly believe the market grossly underestimates Weber — offering a whopping 60% premium to the share price (relative to Oct 24th).
