Bob Evans Farms, the US food manufacturer and restaurant owner, is to sell and lease back its head office and two plants to raise funds to buy back shares.
The company said it wanted to "pursue monetisation" of its HQ in New Albany in Ohio, plus two manufacturing facilities – in Lima in Ohio and in Sulphur Springs in Texas. Bob Evans Farms said it wanted to buy back US$50m worth of shares.
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In March, despite pressure from investors, Bob Evans Farms decided against separating its business and spinning off its packaged food unit BEF Foods.
The group had been involved in a proxy battle with activist investor Sandell Asset Management Corp., which had called on the company to spin off the division and generate value from the group's restaurant real estate.
However, last month, Bob Evans Farms outlined plans to close 20 restaurants it said were not meeting expectations.
Announcing the sale-and-leaseback plan on Thursday, CFO Mark Hood said: "While we continue to actively evaluate various options with respect to strategic alternatives for our Bob Evans Restaurants real estate, we have decided to pursue a sale-leaseback of our New Albany headquarters and selected industrial
properties."
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