After acquiring the company in 1995, Darden Restaurants sold Red Lobster for $2.1 billion in 2014 to San Francisco-based PE firm, Golden Gate Capital. Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) is a multi-brand restaurant operator with over 1800 locations, best known for owning Olive Garden. Darden sold Red Lobster at a 9x EBITDA multiple, after facing growing operational challenges. Some shareholders (like Starboard LP) viewed this as a 'hurried, reactive' decision that could 'result in permanent destruction of shareholder value.' Starboard Value LP, which owned 5.5% of Darden at the time, was seeking a special shareholder meeting for a vote on its proposal to halt Darden's Red Lobster separation. In order to finance the deal, Golden Gate sold off Red Lobster's real estate to another entity named American Realty Capital Properties (now called Vereit) and then immediately leased the restaurants back. Ten years later, in May 2024, Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy and closed several locations.
$2.1B • 2014 • Acquisition
Darden Restaurants (owner of Olive Garden) sold Red Lobster in 2014 for $2.1B to PE firm Golden Gate Capital.
Winning pitch decks that have closed millions in investments for leading startups and billion-dollar unicorns.
Investors see 5,000 pitch decks per year. Will you stand out?
Darden Restaurants (owner of Olive Garden) sold Red Lobster in 2014 for $2.1B to PE firm Golden Gate Capital. . Darden Sale of Red Lobster raised $2.1B in 2014 with this deck.
Kroger announced plans to acquire Albertsons for $24.6B in 2022, but the FTC filed suit to block the merger. Kroger × Albertsons Acquisition raised $24.6B in 2022 with this deck.
Nvida was set to acquire Arm for $40B in 2020, but the FTC blocked the transaction. Nvidia × Arm Acquisition raised $40B in 2020 with this deck.
Adobe was set to acquire Figma for $20B in 2022, but the deal fell through a year later due to regulatory pressure. Adobe Figma Acquisition raised $20B in 2022 with this deck.
No spam. Up to 2 emails/mo – only the good stuff!