On the same day they released a new griddle, Weber has completed their process of becoming a private company once again. BDT Capital finished their purchase of all Class A shares of Weber, and the company is delisted from the stock exchange.
For over seven decades, Weber has been steadfast in its commitment to bring joy, fun, and moments of true human connection through outdoor cooking to spaces and places worldwide. With BDT’s continued support, we stay true to this mission as we progress in executing our long-term strategy and ensuring that we bring the industry’s highest performing, highest quality, and most innovative experiences to our customers and growing community of Weber owners.
Weber CEO Alan Matula
Financials Released
Since Weber was going private, they released financials earlier in the month without much fanfare. The quarter continued where the last one left off, with down sales and negative earnings.
In what will be the last financial results we’ll get out of Weber, for the three months ended December 31, 2022, they saw sales decrease by 42% to $165 million. That translated to a net loss of $114 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $30 million.
The reason the gave was more of the same that we’ve seen across the grill market. There was slower retail traffic, both in-store and online, higher customer inventory levels, and negative macroeconomic factors.
With losses like that, it’s no surprise that Weber had to take on a ton of debt at a high interest rate, and has gone private to remain solvent.
Lawsuits
Not surprisingly, not everyone is happy with Weber’s process of going private. After an IPO at around $14, then mismanagement of the company, and ultimately being bought back by their largest shareholder for $8.05, it’s been a strange couple of years.
The lawsuits filed in Delaware against Weber Inc. seek to inspect the books of the company. With BDT Capital having significant power on Weber’s board, they also want to determine if there was any conflict of interest in relation to the buyout and review the process.