Tantalizers swaps burgers for broadcasts in renewed digital content play

Tantalizers Plc, the Nigerian restaurant chain grappling with financial losses, is expanding aggressively beyond its fast-food roots, acquiring media and entertainment company Grand Media Projects Limited, a company founded by veteran filmmaker Tade Ogidan. The move signals a strategic pivot into digital content, branded experiences, and event activations.

The acquisition follows Tantalizers’ December 2024 purchase of marine firm DanBethel Marine Services. These deals are part of a “hard reset” initiated last year after a ₦1.07 billion private placement in May 2024 brought in new majority owners, Emirati-based Food Specialities and Organics Limited and Banklink Africa, and installed a new board chaired by Adam Nuru.

Tantalizers has faced significant financial challenges, reporting a pre-tax loss of ₦231 million in September 2024, following losses in 2023 and 2022.

“Our acquisition of Tade Ogidan’s Grand Media is a quantum leap into content development, branded experiences and event activations verticals, “Adam Nuru said in an NGX filing dated May 16.

“The growing intersection between food, lifestyle, and entertainment will deliver huge value to the brand and our numerous stakeholders.”

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The expansion into new sectors is supported by a $25 million financing facility, aimed at bolstering Tantalizers’ ambition to become a top 50 company on the NGX.

“We are super excited about the creative opportunities this acquisition presents and are confident it will create long-term value for Nigerians and indeed the world. Tantalizers’ tech-driven entertainment platform is a socially smart initiative and will be a game changer in the industry,” said Grand Media Chairman Mr. Tade Ogidan. A quick company check on Grand Media confirms its registration date as July 2, 2002, but fails to offer an update on its current status, which raises questions about the possibility of a distress sale.

The acquisitions mark Tantalizers’ push to transform into a multi-sector consumer brand, seeking to connect with audiences through diverse offerings beyond its traditional QSR business.