Ardent Leisure to Sell its US Entertainment Business to Dave & Buster’s

The Australian park operator group Ardent Leisure, which owns a portfolio of several leisure facilities in Australia and the US, and private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners will sell their US entertainment business Main Event. Namely, the US business unit will go to restaurant and arcade operator Dave & Buster’s. The Texas-based company Dave & Buster’s will pay 835 million US dollars for the acquisition in a cash transaction to be completed later this year. The purchase price is about nine times of Main Event’s Adjusted EBITDA. Main Event operates a total of 50 entertainment centers with activity offers including bowling, billiards, laser tag and gaming in 17 states across the USA.

“We are thrilled to welcome Main Event to the Dave & Buster’s family,” said Kevin Sheehan, Board Chair and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Dave & Buster’s. “This is a transformational combination for both brands. From a strategic fit perspective, Main Event’s business model, footprint and asset quality aligns well with Dave & Buster’s. Main Event targets a different demographic, families with younger children, while Dave & Buster’s has primarily targeted young adults. While each brand will continue to operate independently, ownership of both brands enables us to expand the breadth of customers we serve together, while also enabling each brand to better differentiate its offering to its core consumer. […] We expect the acquisition to be accretive to growth and earnings.”

In the course of the transaction, announced by Dave & Buster’s on Wednesday (6 April), also current Main Event CEO Chris Morris will be named new CEO of Dave & Buster’s. He succeeds Brian Jenkins, who already retired last year. (eap)