Applegreen shares surge 42% on cash buyout offer for Ireland's largest forecourt operator

Anna Geary, GAA player and TV personality, at the Applegreen branch on Cork's North Ring Road.

Applegreen, Ireland's largest petrol forecourt operator, is set to be taken private by its founders Bob Etchingham and Joe Barrett with the financial might of US equity giant Blackstone, after enduring a rollercoaster share price performance on the Irish stock exchange since its debut over five years ago. The shares surged by 42%. 

The independent directors on the Applegreen board will now consider the €5.75 a share proposed cash offer for the company which is also the second-largest motorway service station in Britain based on selling food from big name operators and its own brand. It has a presence in the US too.

The shares surged by 42% to €5.50, just short of the proposed share offer price, to value the firm at €663.7m. The cash offer looks likely to be approved because Mr Etchingham, who is chief executive, and the chief operating officer Mr Barrett between them own over 41% of the company. They are making their offer under a group they have called B&J.

Expansion plans

The CEO and COO will stay with Applegreen and will keep "a significant" though unspecified stake in the private company. The presence of Blackstone signals that Applegreen still has major plans for expansion abroad, possibly because those plans were not best realised by the stock market listing. 

Blackstone owns extensive businesses across the US and Europe, and in Ireland is in the final stages of selling Blanchardstown Shopping Centre to Goldman Sachs. Applegreen shares came to the market in September 2015 and have had a rollercoaster ride since. They reached an all-time time high of €6.60 but were trading at €5.06 on the eve of the first Covid-19 lockdowns in Ireland and Britain, which hit its fuel and food sales hard. The shares had since clawed back a significant part of the losses and were trading at €3.88 this week ahead of Thursday's stock market announcement.