Daily mail 25/3/201926 Mar 2019 11:18
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-6848717/MARKET-REPORT-Noodle-takeover-lands-Restaurant-Group-hot-water-recovery-menu.html
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MARKET REPORT: Takeover of noodle bar chain Wagamama lands Restaurant Group in hot water but is a recovery on the menu?
By IAN LYALL FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 21:51, 25 March 2019 | UPDATED: 21:51, 25 March 2019
It has been a tough six months for backers of The Restaurant Group in the run-up to and following its £550million acquisition of Wagamama.
Worries over the strain the deal may have placed on the balance sheet have driven the share price down 100p, or 46 per cent.
But as Mark Irvine-Fortescue at City broker Stifel pointed out, transformational bolt-ons such as Wagamama rarely come along at the perfect time, or, indeed, at the ideal price.
He reckons the shares will recover, but this relies on a hiccup-free welding together of the popular noodle chain to TRG's existing Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito operation, as well as realising the planned synergies from the merger.
The Restaurant Group paid £550m for noodle chain Wagamama driving the share price down 100p, or 46 per cent
Irvine-Fortescue is a fan of the 'oversold' stock, which he reckons is worth 170p. Yesterday it was off another 2.1 per cent, or 2.5p, at 115.4p.
The Stifel abacus rattler, newly installed at the broker, took a closer look at TRG as part of a deep dive into the hospitality sector.
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