Four Foods Group on Wednesday said it has purchased 48 Little Caesars restaurants in Alabama and Louisiana, continuing the Utah-based company’s rapid expansion into new territories and concepts.
The deal doubles the size of the 9-year-old company, at least in terms of units. Four Foods currently operates 44 Kneaders Bakery & Café restaurants. It also operates two R&R Barbecue locations and acquired the Gilbert, Ariz.-based The Soda Shop in January.
The deals now give FFG 97 restaurants in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Alabama and Louisiana, with annual revenues this year projected to exceed $150 million.
“We have now become one of the leading restaurant concept incubators and management growth companies in America, and we are just getting started,” company co-founder and CEO Andrew Smith said in a statement.
The Little Caesars announcement came the day after Four Foods said it secured $33 million in financing, including $22.7 million in acquisition financing from the lender CIT Group Inc., and $10 million from private investors and current shareholders.
In Little Caesars, Four Foods will get into one of the largest pizza chains in the country. And the franchisee is familiar with the area where the restaurants being acquired are located: Shauna Smith, FFG’s co-founder, is an Alabama native.
Four Foods cited Little Caesars value, convenience and speed for its decision to buy into the brand, and indicated that the concept fits the operator’s long-term portfolio strategy.
“We have a deep love for the South and the hospitality, respect and work ethic that comes with Southern culture,” Shauna Smith said in a statement. “In this case, we have a terrific brand we believe is positioned for a lot of growth in these rural areas of Alabama and Louisiana. Four Foods Group will provide the capital and management structure needed to maximize growth in these areas.”
In addition to its corporate headquarters in American Fork, Utah, Four Foods will open a second corporate office in Birmingham, Ala., where it will house 28 employees.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
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