One of Britain’s biggest tenpin bowling venue operators will this week disclose that it has become the latest London-listed companies to recommend a private equity-backed takeover.
Sky News has learnt that Ten Entertainment, which trades from about 50 venues across the UK, is to recommend an offer from Trive Capital, a US-based buyout firm.
A banking source said the deal was expected to be announced as early as Wednesday morning.
The deal is expected to be worth in the region of £300m.
If confirmed, it will come in the wake of a string of other takeover bids for London-listed companies, such as Mars’ recently recommended offer for the retailer Hotel Chocolat.
Trive’s bid for Ten Entertainment will come six years after the tenpin bowling group floated at 165p-a-share.
On Tuesday, the stock closed at 310p, meaning that with a conventional takeover premium included in the offer, investors at the time of the listing would have more than doubled their money.
Ten Entertainment competes with rivals such as Hollywood Bowl, and is run by a Graham
Blackwell, a leisure industry veteran.
Its shares have risen by more than a quarter over the last 12 months amid growing post-pandemic demand for in-person leisure experiences.
A spokesman for Ten Entertainment declined to comment.
