M&A

Chopt buys Dos Toros, forms new holding company

The brands will operate independently under newly formed Founders Table Restaurant Group, and will launch a shared loyalty program.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Jan. 24, 2020
Uber sells India food delivery business to local competitor

The company sold Uber Eats India to Zomato as part of its strategy to leave regions where management doesn't think it can be a top player in the space.
By Julie Littman • Jan. 21, 2020
Macaroni Grill eyes 2nd acquisition

The once-struggling company hopes to close on another purchase in Q1, one that could bring it halfway to its goal of becoming a $1 billion business, said CEO Nishant Machado.
By Julie Littman • Jan. 15, 2020
FAT Brands CEO: Chain plans to close an acquisition in Q1, with more in the works

With new funding, the company is poised to buy larger brands as part of its two-pronged strategy to grow organically and through acquisitions, Andy Wiederhorn told Restaurant Dive at the ICR Conference.
By Julie Littman • Jan. 14, 2020
Grubhub says it's not for sale

Contradicting The Wall Street Journal's report, the company said,"there is unequivocally no process in place to sell the company," but that it's exploring acquisition opportunities.
By Emma Liem Beckett • UPDATED: Jan. 10, 2020 at 8:51 a.m.
Yum Brands acquires Habit Burger for $375M

The deal, which is expected to close by the end of Q2 2020, is Yum's first restaurant acquisition since it went public more than 20 years ago.
By Julie Littman • Jan. 06, 2020
10 of the most impactful restaurant acquisitions of 2019

Restaurants and private equity continued to be active buyers this year as restaurant leaders explored ways to grow amid labor and declining traffic pressures.
By Julie Littman • Dec. 20, 2019
Private equity firm acquires 117 Pizza Hut restaurants

Triton Pacific's purchase comes after the pizza chain made plans to restructure its business to address high debt levels and lack of access to capital.
By Alicia Kelso • Dec. 19, 2019
Coffee giants Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Peet's plan to merge and go public

As the coffee space grows at a rapid clip, the market has room for increased competition and JDE Peet's would be well positioned to take significant share.
By Alicia Kelso • Dec. 18, 2019
Delivery Hero to pay $4B for Korean food delivery provider

The acquisition will give Delivery Hero a stronghold in South Korea, where the service is competitive, but still has a lot of room for growth.
By Julie Littman • Dec. 13, 2019
WeWork shutters restaurant coworking startup Spacious

Spacious, which turns high-end restaurants into coworking spaces during off-peak times, will close at the end of the year, making it the latest casualty in WeWork’s failed IPO.
By Alicia Kelso • Dec. 13, 2019
Chicken Salad Chick bought by new private equity firm

The chain grew system sales seven-fold under previous majority owner Eagle Merchant Partners, and plans to roll out 250 new stores in the next five years.
By Lauren Stine • Dec. 09, 2019
Dive Awards
Deal of the Year: McDonald's acquires Dynamic Yield

The world's largest fast food chain's $300 million purchase of an artificial intelligence company signaled the start of a technology-first age for restaurants.
By Julie Littman • Dec. 09, 2019
Apollo considers selling Qdoba for $550M

The company's asking price is 80% higher than the $305 million it paid to buy the chain from Jack in the Box in 2018.
By Julie Littman • Nov. 19, 2019
Landry's makes $40M offer for bankrupt Houlihan's

Landry's made its third transaction within the last few months following its acquisition of two Del Frisco's concepts and its bid for Restaurants Unlimited.
By Julie Littman • Nov. 14, 2019
TGI Fridays to go public in $380M sale to Allegro Merger

The chain signed a deal Friday with the special purpose acquisition firm, which will take on $350 million of the restaurant's debt.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Nov. 08, 2019
Bloomin' Brands explores sale, other strategic alternatives

Though it didn't provide a timeline for the review, CEO David Deno told investors that everything is on the table.
By Julie Littman • Nov. 06, 2019
Cracker Barrel buys Maple Street Biscuit Company for $36M

The casual dining chain will convert its fast casual Holler and Dash concept, which investors have called "an ill-conceived project destined to fail," to Maple Street concepts in the near future.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Oct. 11, 2019
Inspire Brands acquires Jimmy John's

The restaurant group will add its fourth company in its third transaction since its 2018 debut, making it one of the more active acquirers in the last few years.
By Julie Littman • Sept. 25, 2019
Landry's buys Del Frisco's from L Catterton

The private equity firm closed its deal for the restaurant group only to sell Del Frisco's Grille and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse to Landry's. It will maintain ownership of Barcelona Wine Bar and bartaco.
By Julie Littman • Sept. 25, 2019
Huddle House buys Perkins for $51.5M

This latest acquisition tops off a particularly active M&A environment for casual brands in 2019, driven by slow-to-grow sales trends.
By Julie Littman • Sept. 13, 2019
McDonald's acquires AI tech company Apprente

The chain will also form a global technology team, McD Tech Labs, which will help further support its future innovations.
By Julie Littman • Sept. 10, 2019
Bloomin' Brands faces more activist pressure to break itself up

Hedge fund Jana Partners is asking the casual dining operator to sell itself entirely or divest brands that aren't Outback Steakhouse.
By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 04, 2019
WeWork enters restaurant space with Spacious acquisition

Spacious turns high-end restaurants into coworking spaces during off-peak hours, and has converted dozens of New York and San Francisco restaurants since its launch in 2016.
By Alicia Kelso • Aug. 28, 2019
Does DoorDash's latest acquisition give it an edge in autonomous delivery?

The delivery platform bought Scotty Labs, a startup developing autonomous and remote-controlled vehicle technology. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Aug. 21, 2019