Credit Suisse views Weber go-private deal ‘positively’

Credit Suisse analyst Kaumil Gajrawala notes that on Monday morning, Weber (WEBR) announced a go-private deal with its largest shareholder, BDT Capital. The transaction, $8.05/share, values Weber at $3.7B, or 2.1-times/2.6-times on last twelve months/next twelve months sales, respectively. Traeger (COOK) is a much smaller business, with $700M in sales in the last twelve months versus $1.7B for Weber. Using Weber’s multiples, this would theoretically value Traeger at $7.66/$9.05 per share on an LTM/NTM basis but inventory concerns and liquidity with leverage at 6-times at Q3 need to be considered, Gajrawala argues. Overall, the analyst views Weber news positively, and believes it confirms that as pressures abate and visibility improves, these businesses still have value. He has a Neutral rating on Traeger’s shares with a price target of $3.15.