Filing Flows › Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) › Takeover & LBO
Is Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($10.18 a share) would return a loss of about 40% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. Historically 6.5% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.3× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $10.18 | today's $7.83 plus 30% |
| × shares | 34.8 million | |
| = Equity value | $354M | |
| + Debt refinanced | $1.5B | |
| − Cash | $16.0M | |
| = Enterprise value | $1.9B | 5.6× EBITDA of $332M |
| Fees | $37.4M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $1.2B | 3.7× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 65% of the price |
| Buyer's own money | $693M | 36% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $2.1B | $327M | $93.1M | −$98.8M | $1.3B |
| Year 2 | $2.0B | $326M | $101M | −$106M | $1.4B |
| Year 3 | $2.1B | $328M | $109M | −$116M | $1.5B |
| Year 4 | $2.1B | $334M | $118M | −$127M | $1.7B |
| Year 5 | $2.2B | $344M | $127M | −$140M | $1.8B |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 5.4× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $1.9B | |
| − Debt left | $1.8B | |
| = Buyer's equity | $52.6M | |
| Money multiple | 0.08× | on $693M put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | −40.3% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $7.83.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $8.61 | −31.2% |
| 20% | $9.40 | −35.2% |
| 30% | $10.18 | −40.3% |
| 40% | $10.96 | −47.9% |
| 50% | $11.75 | −71.4% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $2.1B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $332M | 15.9% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $296M | |
| Capital spending | $338M | |
| Debt | $1.5B | |
| Cash | $16.0M | |
| Share price | $7.83 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows -1.5% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 21% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Dave & Buster's Entertainment would cost about $10.37 a share, $361M for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $9.40 | $327M |
| Median | 32.5% | $10.37 | $361M |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $11.89 | $414M |
The odds, from history
Historically 6.5% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.3× the average). Its figures put it in decile 8 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
Dave & Buster's Entertainment's latest quarter
Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Q2 FY27: revenue $544M (-2% year over year), operating margin 3.6%, net loss $12.5M, operating cash flow $46.8M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Dave & Buster's Entertainment being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy Dave & Buster's Entertainment?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($10.18 a share) would return a loss of about 40% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%.
What would a takeover of Dave & Buster's Entertainment cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Dave & Buster's Entertainment would cost about $10.37 a share, $361M for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.