Soho House Stock Soars on $2.7B Take-Private Deal Involving Ashton Kutcher

Shares of Soho House & Co. (SHCO) are soaring 16% in premarket trading Monday after the exclusive members club announced plans to go private for roughly $2.7 billion including debt, in a deal involving hotelier MCR and actor Ashton Kutcher.

Shareholders will receive $9.00 per share in cash, well above the club’s $7.64 closing price Friday but much lower than Soho House’s $14 IPO price in 2021.

An investor group led by MCR and its CEO, Tyler Morse, “will acquire the outstanding shares of Soho House not held by certain significant shareholders,” the release announcing the deal said. Billionaire Ron Burkle, Soho House’s executive chairman, and Yucaipa Companies LLC will maintain majority control, while Morse will join the board as vice chairman.

A consortium of strategic investors led by Kutcher will provide new equity capital, with the Hollywood star joining the company’s board once the deal is completed. Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management (APO) and Goldman Sachs (GS) Alternatives also are providing financing.

Assets of MCR, which the release said is the third largest hotel owner-operator in the U.S., include the TWA Hotel at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, The High Line Hotel and the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan, and the BT Tower in London.