High-tech airport concessionaire looking to go public

Airport concessions operator OTG Experience is launching an initial public stock offering seeking funds for further expansion from the 10 major airports in which it currently operates its distinctive iPad-based dining experience for travelers.

The company’s business model revolves around an electronic concierge service that makes tablet computers equipped with OTG’s 2U application available to travelers in designated lounge areas. There, they can use the tablets to order meals (in more than 20 languages) ranging from gourmet sandwiches and salads to sushi and steak, as well as fine wines and locally brewed craft beers, from the company’s array of proprietary restaurant concepts located nearby.

OTG’s restaurant brands include gourmet burger concept Custom Burger (with meats sourced through Pat Lafrieda), the pizza concept Tagliere, the coffee concept WorldBean, New England-inspired seafood shack Anglers, the gourmet sandwich concept Interwich and contemporary Japanese cuisine concept Kombu. CIBO Express offers fresh grab-and-go food options that can be picked up on the way to the gate.

The 2U application can also be used by travelers to play games, order personalized services or shop with designated OTG retail partners for general merchandise and sundries such as electronics and travel accessories and have it delivered either to their seats in the lounge area or to their departure gate. The tablets can also check e-mail, flight status and social media, and be used to surf the Web.

OTG started in 1996 with a single restaurant location in the Philadelphia International Airport but has now expanded to 23 terminals across 10 airports. According to the filing, the company operates 224 concessions locations at its sites, including 58 at Newark Liberty International Airport, 49 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, 48 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and 24 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Other sites where it operates include Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and Toronto-Pearson International Airport. The company’s target market ,per the IPO filing, is North America’s top 30 airports by emplacement, which it says generated $5.2 billion in total food/beverage and news/gifts concessions sales in 2014.

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]