Darden completes tender for RARE

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 1 - Darden Restaurants, Inc. said about 90% of RARE Hospitality International, Inc.'s common stock had been tendered in its $38.15-per-share offer ended on Sept. 28.

A total of 26,991,599 shares had been tendered, with an additional 4,743,236 shares tendered under guaranteed delivery procedures, according to a company news release. The offer began on Aug. 31.

Darden plans to acquire the remaining RARE shares through short-form merger for the same per-share price. Once the merger is complete, RARE will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Darden and will no longer be traded on the Nasdaq.

It was previously reported that the all-cash transaction is valued at an estimated $1.4 billion, including debt.

Atlanta-based RARE owns, operates and franchises 317 restaurants, including 287 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants and 28 Capital Grille restaurants.

Darden, based in Orlando, Fla., owns and operates nearly 1,400 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones and Seasons 52 restaurants with annual sales of $5.6 billion.

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