TGI Friday, an American restaurant chain focusing on casual dining, agreed to merge with Allegro Merger, a blank check company whose objective is to acquire, through a merger, share exchange and asset acquisition, in $380m deal. Allegro will also assume $350m of net debt. The transaction would result in Fridays becoming a publicly listed company. “The first order of business when I took over this company was to bring in the best talent to improve operations and innovation. This transaction is the next significant strategic move, and will allow us to gain public company status and access incremental equity capital to accelerate the rejuvenation of this iconic global brand,” Ray Blanchette, CEO of Fridays.