Fat Brands announced Tuesday its intention to acquire fast-casual Italian chain Fazoli’s for $130 million. The purchase from Sentinel Capital Partners is expected to be finalized by mid-December 2021.
This will be the growing restaurant group’s third acquisition in 2021 alone, following the purchase of the Twin Peaks ‘breastaurant’ sports bar chain in October and Global Franchise Group in July, which includes mainly snack and dessert brands like Hot Dog on a Stick, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzelmaker, and Great American Cookies. Before that, Fat Brands’ last major purchase was 50s diner-themed Johnny Rockets, which was completed in September 2020.
Other Fat Brands restaurants include Fatburger, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Elevation Burger, Yalla Mediterranean and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouse. This will be the company’s first foray into the Italian fast-casual industry and represents a further diversification of its rapidly growing portfolio.
“We have had an outstanding year and we couldn’t be more pleased to join forces with Fat Brands, a company that has the same growth-oriented mentality as us at Fazoli’s,” Carl Howard, CEO of Fazoli’s said in a statement. “From co-branding to virtual kitchens to menu development opportunities, we see great value in being a part of Fat Brands.”
Fazoli’s currently has 200+ stores open with of development pipeline of 100 units set to open in the next few years. With the acquisition, Fat Brands will increase its store portfolio to 2,300 franchised and corporate-owned restaurants globally, with expected 2022 sales topping $2.1 billion.
“Fazoli’s has a great growth story, in particular, over the last year. They continue to surpass sales expectations across the board,” Fat Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn said in a statement. “We have been eyeing this category for some time; however, we were waiting for the right brand – one that is high-growth, with almost all restaurants having drive-thru access, in addition to, the synergies that we will achieve adding Fazoli’s to our portfolio of brands. We look forward to building off of the success of Sentinel Capital Partners.”
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