Aramark Agrees to CEO’s $6.3-Billion Buyout Offer

PHILADELPHIA — Aramark Corp., the nation’s largest food-service company, said Tuesday it agreed to be acquired by an investment group led by its longtime chief executive for $6.3 billion, plus the assumption of about $2 billion in debt.

Aramark shareholders will get $33.80 in cash for each share, an improvement upon the $32-a-share initial bid made by the same group in May. The purchase price represents a 20% premium over Aramark’s closing stock price April 28, the last trading day before the first bid.

An Aramark spokeswoman said Chairman and CEO Joseph Neubauer would contribute as much as $250 million. The deal is expected to close by early next year.

It is Neubauer’s second time leading an Aramark management buyout. He first did it in 1984 to thwart corporate raiders who attempted to mount a hostile takeover. Aramark went public in 2001, three months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Share performance has been uneven.

“It’s simply that he has seen that the public markets haven’t really rewarded the company,” said Bruce Simpson, an analyst at William Blair & Co. “He’s putting the money where his mouth is.”

Philadelphia-based Aramark -- whose business includes serving steaks in executive dining rooms and pasta in corporate cafeterias at 1,200 sites nationwide -- will become a private company after the transaction.

Shares of Aramark fell 47 cents to $32.58.