CAVA Group, a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain with over 260 locations across the US, announced terms for its IPO on Monday.
The Washington, DC-based company plans to raise $260 million by offering 14.4 million shares at a price range of $17 to $19. Cornerstone investors T. Rowe Price and Capital Group have indicated an interest in purchasing up to an aggregate of $100 million worth of shares in the offering (38% of the deal). At the midpoint of the proposed range, CAVA Group would command a fully diluted market value of $2.1 billion.
CAVA believes it has established itself as the only national player at scale in the fast-growing Mediterranean category, with more than twice the number of restaurants compared to its next largest competitor in the category. The company owned and operated 263 CAVA restaurants across 22 states and Washington, DC as of April 16, 2023, including the conversion of 145 Zoes Kitchen locations (2018 acquisition). It anticipates having 34 to 44 net new restaurant openings through the end of 2023, including 8 remaining Zoes Kitchen conversions. CAVA's average unit volume was $2.5 million in the 1Q23, up from $2.4 million in the prior-year period, and its restaurant-level profit margin was 25.4%, up from 17.5%.
CAVA Group was founded in 2006 and booked $608 million in sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2023. It plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol CAVA. J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Piper Sandler are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
