M&A
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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 -
Del Taco reportedly mulling a sale
El Pollo Loco, Dine Brands Global, The Habit Restaurants and other chains and private equity firms have reportedly expressed interest in an acquisition.
By Lauren Stine • Aug. 21, 2019 -
J. Alexander's considers sale as part of strategic review
The company's board of directors is now considering a sale, merger or acquisition following several transactions within the upscale dining segment.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 13, 2019 -
OpinionWhat the dine-in sector can learn from the Just Eat merger
In-restaurant mobile ordering hasn't yet reached the ubiquity of delivery, says Wi5 Chief Strategy Officer Gavin Peters, but restaurants who don't anticipate this shift will lose out to digital-first brands.
By Gavin Peters • Aug. 06, 2019 -
DoorDash acquires Caviar for $410M
This delivery leader's first rival acquisition will give it access to premium restaurants and new customers, and could help it prepare for a future IPO.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 01, 2019 -
Cheesecake Factory diversifies with $353M Fox Restaurant Concepts buy
The deal brings 45 experience-focused restaurants into the casual giant's portfolio, which the company aims to use as an incubator for future concepts.
By Emma Liem Beckett • Aug. 01, 2019 -
Elite Restaurant Group adds cupcakes to its growing portfolio
The restaurant operator acquired 68-unit Gigi's Cupcake chain seven months after the bakery filed for bankruptcy protection.
By Alicia Kelso • Aug. 01, 2019 -
Delivery.com expands footprint to over 1.8K cities with Mr. Delivery acquisition
With consumer demand for delivery growing, especially outside of large metros, now is the ideal time to expand, says delivery.com CEO Jed Kleckner.
By Julie Littman • July 31, 2019 -
Report: Amazon eyes India for its next food delivery venture
The e-commerce giant is working with Indian investment firm Catamaran to launch a food delivery business in the market prior to the festive season in September, Reuters reports.
By Alicia Kelso • July 30, 2019 -
Chuck E. Cheese staying private after failed merger
The eatertainment's parent company and Leo Holdings terminated their merger agreement on Monday, a move that will keep the chain from re-entering the public market.
By Julie Littman • July 29, 2019 -
Takeaway.com, Just Eat agree to merger
The deal will create one of the largest European food delivery companies, processing 355 million orders and worth over $8 billion.
By Alicia Kelso • UPDATED: Aug. 5, 2019 at 8:42 a.m. -
Jollibee pays $350M for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Jollibee is a step closer to reaching its goal of becoming one of the five largest restaurant brands in the world, but not all of its investors are happy about the acquisition.
By Alicia Kelso • July 25, 2019 -
Red Robin's investor fight symptom of a changing Wall Street
The casual dining company is just one of many under the microscope of shareholders lately, and more will likely be next.
By Julie Littman • July 22, 2019 -
Private equity firm triples investment with Jack's Family Restaurants sale
Onex Group is in the process of selling the casual dining chain, reportedly receiving $835 million in proceeds from the transaction compared to its original investment of $234 million.
By Alicia Kelso • July 22, 2019
