TGI Fridays plans to go public after being acquired

TGI Fridays is being acquired by its United Kingdom franchisee Hostmore plc and going public in the process, the companies announced Tuesday.

The casual-dining chain previously planned to go public in 2020 but was thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The acquisition, valued at $220 million, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.

“This is a terrific moment for our brand and it’s another step in our transformation that started a few months ago,” said Weldon Spangler, TGI Fridays CEO. “I think it demonstrates real confidence in the brand worldwide. We think this really positions us for growth and to have a thriving business.”

The new company, which will keep its headDallas-based quarters in Dallas, will be called TGI Fridays plc and be traded on the London Stock Exchange under TGIF.

The acquisition consolidates each of the company’s entities and brings its total number of restaurants to almost 600 across 44 countries. TGI Fridays operates 230 locations in the U.S.

TGI Fridays, well-known for its loaded potato skins and wait staff wearing striped outfits, has been reeling from abruptly shutting down 36 “underperforming locations” this year after an 18% fall in domestic sales in 2023.

The company reported

$1.4 billion in sales in

2023.

TGI Fridays does not expect to see any locations shuttered in the near future, Spangler said.

TGI Fridays, which started as a cocktail bar in New York, is in a competitive space, going head to head against other bar-and-grill concepts such as Chili’s, owned by Dallas-based Brinker International, and Glendale, Calif.-based Applebee’s.

For Hostmore, the move should reinforce the company more as it maneuvers TGI Fridays further into its already-large portfolio, said Hostmore Chairman Stephen Welker.

New York-based privateequity firm TriArtisan Capital Advisors, which has been the majority owner of TGI Fridays since 2014, will also still control the company going forward.