Canadian restaurant franchisor Foodtastic has proposed to acquire all outstanding shares in MTY Food Group, the parent company of pizza company Papa Murphy's, for $43 per share in cash.
Foodtastic said the offer represents a 32% premium to MTY's current share price and a 37% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average price.
According to a Bloomberg report, the C$1bn ($720m) proposal values MTY at C$1.5bn, including debt.
The company made the new offer after MTY rebuffed the first two approaches last month.
It has since issued a public letter to MTY's board of directors regarding the proposed transaction. In it, Foodtastic said it had the franchising and mergers and acquisitions experience to manage the integration.
The letter also said: "As a leading franchisor with locations across Canada, we are willing to acquire a complicated cross-border portfolio with a challenging operating history."
Foodtastic operates 30 brands and nearly 1,200 establishments across Canada.
Its portfolio includes Dunkin' , Freshii, La Belle et La Bœuf, Milestones, Pita Pit, Quesada, Rotisseries Benny and Second Cup.
Foodtastic president and CEO Peter Mammas said: "MTY is a great company with excellent opportunities, but it has unfortunately not lived up to its full potential in recent years.
"We are very excited about the Proposed Transaction and believe it would not only deliver full and certain value to MTY's shareholders, but also would be an incredible combination for its franchisees and employees.
"We are therefore disappointed that MTY has rejected the Proposed Transaction without engaging in substantive dialogue.
"Nevertheless, we are confident that MTY's shareholders will recognise the compelling value of our proposed transaction and that it represents a superior path forward to MTY's standalone strategy."
"Foodtastic offers $43 per share to acquire MTY Food Group" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service , a GlobalData owned brand.
