(Bloomberg) -- OTG, an operator of restaurants and concessions at U.S. airports, is exploring options including a sale or going public through a special purpose acquisition company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The New York-based company, which filed to go public in 2016 before delaying plans and citing market conditions, is working with an adviser to solicit interest from potential suitors including private equity funds, so-called strategics and SPACs, the people said. Its targeted valuation couldn't immediately be learned.
Founded in 1996 by Chief Executive Officer Eric “Rick” Blatstein, OTG traces its roots to a single restaurant in the Philadelphia International Airport. The company has locations in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, and Toronto Pearson International Airport, among others, its website shows.
The Covid-19 pandemic, which roiled both overseas and domestic travel, could continue to threaten concession operators in part due to new variants and uneven vaccination roll-outs, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Conroy Gaynor wrote in a note last month. Publicly traded airport concessionaires include SSP Group Plc, Dufry AG and Autogrill SpA.
Read more: Travel Retail Set to Have Issues Shaking off Virus Through 2021
After OTG's postponed IPO, Harvest Partners SCF LP, an arm of private equity firm Harvest Partners LP, said it led a $250 million investment in the company.
A spokeswoman for Harvest Partners declined to comment and representatives for OTG didn't respond to requests for comment.
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