Middleby Throws in the Towel

Good news today. Middleby (MIDD) said it will not increase its bid to buy Welbilt (WBT).

Here’s the press release:

The Middleby Corporation today announced that, under the terms of its previously announced Merger Agreement with Welbilt, Inc., it will not exercise its right to propose any modifications to the terms of the Merger Agreement and will allow the five-day match period to expire. Middleby expects that the Merger Agreement will terminate at the end of the match period today.

“We believe that the previously agreed terms of the Merger Agreement between Middleby and Welbilt offered significant long-term strategic value to the Welbilt shareholders through the ability to participate in substantial upside opportunity from Middleby’s continued growth, while remaining attractive to our existing Middleby shareholders,” said Timothy FitzGerald, CEO of Middleby. “As we considered our options over the course of the match period, we concluded to deploy our substantial financial resources wisely. We are excited about the momentum of our business and future prospects of our three industry leading foodservice platforms. As a seasoned acquirer, we remain disciplined and committed to ensuring the best outcome for our Middleby shareholders.”

In accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement, Middleby will be entitled to a termination fee of $110 million to be paid by Welbilt simultaneously with the termination of the Merger Agreement. “The additional cash infusion Middleby stands to receive upon termination will put us in an even better position to execute on our existing M&A growth strategy, as we continue to build upon our long-standing track record of value-creating deals,” added Mr. FitzGerald. Middleby has completed over 20 acquisitions since 2018 alone, with a history of successfully integrating businesses and realizing significant synergies at the acquired companies.

“Looking ahead, we remain highly confident in our ability to drive continued growth and profitability and believe we are uniquely positioned to deliver superior value creation for our shareholders,” said Mr. FitzGerald.

As I see it, Middleby is being paid $110 million to avoid a mistake. The shares have been up as much as 5% today.

Posted by on July 13th, 2021 at 10:30 am


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