(The Australian Feature – Dec 23, 2020)
Today Guzman y Gomez (Holdings) Limited (“GYG”) announced that Magellan Financial Group Limited (“Magellan”), Australia’s largest specialist funds manager, has entered into an agreement to acquire 10% of GYG from existing shareholders for $86.8 million, resulting in an equity valuation for GYG of $867 million. TDM Growth Partners and GYG’s Founder and CEO, Steven Marks, will remain GYG’s largest shareholders.
Steven Marks said “We are incredibly excited to welcome Magellan to the GYG family. Our ambition is to be the best restaurant company in the world and, to achieve that, we need the support of the best partners, investors, and a world class board of directors. Magellan’s experience and track record in the QSR space is proven here in Australia and globally. We could not think of a better qualified partner to have alongside us as we enter the next, most exciting phase of the GYG journey”.
Magellan’s Chairman, Hamish Douglass, said “We are extremely pleased to become a shareholder in GYG. Magellan has deep investment experience in the quick service restaurant industry, and we believe Magellan can both add and gain considerable insights as a major investor and supportive shareholder. GYG is a world class business with enormous growth potential and represents a highly attractive investment opportunity for our Principal Investments business.”
Magellan has considerable experience investing in successful, global QSR businesses. Its core operating subsidiary, Magellan Asset Management Limited, has approximately $103 billion of funds under management, including over $7 billion of investments in some of the world’s largest QSR businesses.
The transaction is expected to complete in late January 2021, subject to shareholder approval, following which Craig Wright, Magellan’s Head of Governance & Advisory, will join the GYG board.
Guzman y Gomez also announced today that Athletic Ventures (“AV”) is to become a new investor. AV represents a group of high-profile male and female athletes founded by GWS Giant, Matt de Boer.
Inspired by GYG’s mission of reinventing fast food, over 40 current elite athletes will become GYG shareholders through AV on the same commercial terms as Magellan.
AV founder, Matt de Boer, explained that “Athletes care deeply what they put in their bodies. All of us were already huge GYG fans, with many elite teams serving GYG as their recovery meals on game days. In addition, the high-performance culture that Steven and his team have built makes GYG a natural fit for AV. We are so pleased to be investing in such an aligned business that we can genuinely support and add value to.”
This article was published by Damon Kitney on December 23, 2020 in The Australian.
