Brinker International Inc. said late Thursday it had agreed to sell 89 corporate units within its flagship Chili’s Grill & Bar chain to Pepper Dining Inc., an affiliate of private-equity firm Olympus Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Brinker also said Pepper Dining agreed to develop an additional 20 to 44 new franchised Chili’s units throughout the U.S. East Coast. The deal is the largest franchise transaction in Brinker history, the company noted in a statement, and is part of its announced strategy to expand domestic and international franchise ownership of its brands from 20 percent to 30 percent within the next 12 months. About six months ago, Brinker sold four units of its Romano’s Macaroni Grill chain to franchisee Waterloo Restaurant Ventures Inc., which agreed as part of the deal to develop 11 more outlets in the San Francisco area by 2013
Brinker operates and franchises more than 1,600 restaurants under the Chili’s, Romano’s, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Maggiano’s Little Italy brands. Stamford, Conn.-based Olympus’ former and current restaurant investments include Pennant Foods, a Wendy’s franchisee, and K-MAC Enterprises, which operates Taco Bell, KFC and Golden Corral restaurants. Olympus also was a founding investor in HomeTown Buffets.