==Chuy's (CHUY) to be acquired by Darden Restaurants (DRI)

 

Darden Restaurants expands into Mexican category with Chuy's acquisition 

• Darden Restaurants (DRI -1.1%) is back on the M&A hunt. Just over a year since its closed on its acquisition of Ruth's Chris Steak House, the company announced last night it will acquire Chuy's (CHUY +48%) for $37.50 per share, a Tex-Mex-inspired full-service casual dining restaurant chain. It's an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $605 mln.
• DRI sees Chuy's as complementing its existing portfolio, which includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Ruth's Chris, Cheddar's, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V's and Bahama Breeze. What's notable about Chuy's is that it's Darden's first foray into the popular Mexican dining category.
• Darden describes Mexican as one of the fastest growing dining categories, and Chuy's is the largest full-service operator with strong unit economics. Chuy's currently has 101 restaurants, all of which are company-owned, so no franchisees. Average restaurant sales at Chuy's are $4.5 mln, with an average check of $19 and an impressive restaurant level EBITDA margin of almost 20%. DRI expects to use its scale to drive further cost benefits.
• While CHUY, not surprisingly, is sharply higher on the news, DRI is trading modestly lower. Perhaps investors are worried that Darden is biting off more than it can "Chuy", so soon after it just closed on Ruth's Chris in June 2023. Also, CHUY's shares have been trending lower over the past year as results have not been great. Investors may be balking at DRI paying a huge 48% premium over CHUY's $25.27 closing price yesterday, and all in cash.

=Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported earnings on Wed 17 Jul 24 (a/h)

 

HOUSTON (AP) — HOUSTON (AP) — Natural gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) on Wednesday reported second-quarter profit of $575 million.

On a per-share basis, the Houston-based company said it had profit of 26 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were 25 cents per share.

The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 25 cents per share.

The oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company posted revenue of $3.57 billion in the period.

Kinder Morgan expects full-year earnings to be $1.22 per share.

Investors are bullish on the stock because of the company’s prospects to supply energy for the AI data center boom.

===4D Molecular Therapeutics (FDMT) : Phase 2 PRISM Interim Results for Intravitreal 4D-150

• The Co. announces "positive" Phase 2 PRISM interim results for intravitreal 4D-150 in a broad wet AMD population affirming favorable safety profile and robust clinical activity.
• Last month, the FDA cleared the company’s investigational new drug application or 4D-175, an R100 vector-based intravitreal genetic medicine, for the treatment of patients with geographic atrophy.  
• Earlier, the company presented positive data on its lead candidate, 4D-150, in wet age-related macular degeneration.

About 4D-150 for Wet AMD

4D-150 combines our customized and evolved intravitreal vector, R100, and a transgene cassette that expresses both aflibercept and a VEGF-C inhibitory RNAi. This dual-transgene payload inhibits four members of the VEGF angiogenic family of factors that drive wet AMD and DME: VEGF A, B, C and PlGF. R100 was invented at 4DMT through our proprietary Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform; we developed this platform utilizing principles of directed evolution, a Nobel Prize-winning technology. 4D-150 is designed for single, low-dose intravitreal delivery for transgene expression from the retina without significant inflammation.

About 4DMT

4DMT is a leading clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on unlocking the full potential of genetic medicines to treat large market diseases in ophthalmology and pulmonology. 4DMT’s proprietary invention platform, Therapeutic Vector Evolution, combines the power of the Nobel Prize-winning technology, directed evolution, with approximately one billion synthetic AAV capsid-derived sequences to invent customized and evolved vectors for use in our wholly owned and partnered product candidates. Our product design, development, and manufacturing engine helps us efficiently create and advance our diverse product pipeline with the goal of revolutionizing medicine with potential curative therapies for millions of patients. Currently, 4DMT is advancing six clinical-stage and one preclinical product candidate, each tailored to address rare and large market diseases in ophthalmology, pulmonology and cardiology. In addition, 4DMT is also advancing programs in CNS through a gene editing partnership. 4D Molecular Therapeutics™, 4DMT™, Therapeutic Vector Evolution™, and the 4DMT logo are trademarks of 4DMT.

All of our product candidates are in clinical or preclinical development and have not yet been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or any other regulatory authority. No representation is made as to the safety or effectiveness of our product candidates for the therapeutic uses for which they are being studied.

== Five Below (FIVE): CEO Joel Anderson steps down to serve as CEO of Petco Health and Wellness (WOOF)

• Joel Anderson has stepped down from his roles of President and CEO, and from the Board of Directors.
• Co appoints COO Kenneth Bull as interim President and CEO.
• Thomas Vellios, Co-Founder, Non-Executive Chairman and former CEO, is assuming the role of Executive Chairman on an interim basis to support Mr. Bull and the executive leadership team in the transition while the Board conducts a comprehensive search for a permanent CEO.

 

Anderson joined Five Below as CEO in 2015. He led the company's U.S. expansion from 366 to over 1,500 stores and e-commerce site launch, optimized operations, expansion into new categories, and drove revenue growth from $500 million to more than $3.5 billion. 

Anderson previously served for three years as the president and CEO of Walmart.com, leading the business unit from 2011 to 2014. For four years before that, he was divisional senior VP of the Northern Plains division of Walmart stores.

Petco has been on the hunt for a new CEO since March, when Ron Coughlin, stepped down as chief executive, chairman and board member after a disappointing quarter. He had led Petco since June 2018.  

Upon Coughlin’s departure, board member and former longtime Best Buy executive R. Michael Mohan was tapped as interim CEO. Petco said that Mohan will transition from interim chief on July 29 to chair a new board committee focused on Petco's ongoing value creation initiatives, working with Anderson to ensure a smooth leadership transition and continued execution towards the company's objectives. 

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Petco operates more than 1,500 stores  across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, which offer merchandise, companion animals, grooming, training and a growing network of on-site veterinary hospitals and mobile veterinary clinics.