Soho House shares soar 60% after consortium tables £1.4bn takeover offer
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Soho House & Co has announced that it's received a takeover bid from a new consortium. The news sent the members' club business's shares soaring by over 60% in early trading, hitting their highest level in more than a year. The London-based company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, revealed that a "new third-party consortium" has proposed to purchase it for $9 dollars per share.
This move would value Soho House at $1.75bn (£1.39bn), representing an 83% premium against its closing price on Wednesday. Soho House, which also owns the Ned in London, stated that the offer has the backing of Ron Burkle, executive chair and majority shareholder of the group, and his investment firm, The Yucaipa Companies.
He has been exploring a potential deal to take the company private following its recent drop in share value. In May, the group turned down a previous takeover bid from an unnamed party, emphasising that it did not believe the proposal "adequately reflects the value" of the company.
On Thursday, the company also reported that member numbers increased by 4.8% to 267,494 for the quarter ending in September, compared with the same period last year. This was driven by the continued growth of the Soho House brand, where member numbers rose 13% year-on-year. Total revenues were 13.6% higher at $333.4m (£265.7m) for the period.
Andrew Carnie, chief executive of Soho House & Co, said: "Our third quarter results reflect the strength of our membership model. Despite a choppy consumer environment, our long-term strategic focus on operational excellence and delivering the best member experience continues to drive improved performance.".
