Restaurant Brands New Zealand Ltd (ASX: RBD) has received a takeover offer from its majority shareholder at a massive 64% premium to the last trading price.
The company, whose Australian-listed shares were valued at $336.8 million at Monday's close of trade on the ASX, operates 522 quick service restaurants across the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Carl's Jr. brands in New Zealand, Australia, and the US.
In an announcement to the ASX on Tuesday morning, Restaurant Brands said it had received a notice under the New Zealand Takeovers Code from Finaccess Restauración, S.L., indicating that it intended to make a full takeover bid for the company at NZ$5.50 ($4.43) per share.
This price is a 64.1% premium to the last close of trade on the ASX, at $2.70.
Restaurant Brands' ASX-listed shares hit an early high of $4.37 before settling slightly to trade 60.74% higher at $4.34 at the time of writing.
Finaccess Restauración already owned 75.02% of the company and lodged a notice on Tuesday that it had increased its stake to 91.3% after securing deals with another major shareholder.
Business steady in challenging conditions
Restaurant Brands in August announced record half-year revenue of NZ$703.2 million ($617.9 million) and a net profit of NZ$11.9 million ($10.5 million).
At the end of June this year, the company owned 380 stores itself and had another 142 franchised stores, with 156 owned stores in New Zealand, 83 in Australia, 70 in Hawaii, and 71 in California.
The company's first-half net profit was down 5.6% on the previous year's first half, affected by "persistent macroeconomic headwinds and shifting consumer patterns across the quick service restaurant sector", the company said.
Margin recovery was tempered by increased labour, energy and rentals costs, as well as higher aggregator charges, and a slower-than-expected macroeconomic improvement across several regions. These conditions have limited the impact of strategic initiatives, including cost control measures, operational efficiencies, and pricing programmes.
The company's chair, Jose Pares, said at the time that the company had navigated an "extended period of cost pressure and economic uncertainty''.
Prolonged inflationary pressures, cost-of-living constraints, and value-focused customer behaviour continued to shape trading across key markets during the half year, yet the group continues to grow top-line sales, focusing on profitability and protection our brand position in all markets.
The company was targeting revenues of $2 billion per year and had opened one new store during the first half.
Restaurant Brands did not declare a first-half dividend.
The company said in August it was expecting stronger sales across Australia and New Zealand in the second half as inflationary pressures and interest rates eased, "coupled with innovation and strong marketing campaigns''.
While elevated labour and energy costs persist, global economic trends are expected to progressively improve operating conditions into 2026.
