Darden Restaurants, Inc. and Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. have entered into a definitive merger agreement for an all-cash transaction with an equity value of approximately $715 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Darden will commence a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Ruth’s for $21.50 per share.
The portfolio owned by Darden includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen The Capital Grille Seasons 52 Bahama Breeze and Eddie V’s while Ruth’s Chris was founded in 1965 in New Orleans and currently has 80 company-owned or -operated restaurants as well as 74 franchised restaurants generating sales exceeding $860 million with total revenues over $500 million plus average annual restaurant volumes for company-owned or -operated locations of around $6.2 million during its fiscal year 2022 .
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is acting as legal advisor to Darden while Jefferies LLC is providing exclusive financial advice alongside Kirkland & Ellis LLP who are serving as legal advisors to Ruth’s Hospitality Group on this transaction .
