Acquisition corporation says targeted burger brand plans to open 6 restaurants in Q4
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OPES Acquisition Corp. says BurgerFi International LLC, which it has targeted for taking public, expects revenue for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 to be in the range of $9 million to $9.2 million, the company said Tuesday.
Miami-based OPES, a special purpose acquisition company, and Palm Beach, Fla.-based BurgerFi in June agreed to a $100 million deal to take the better-burger to the public markets. The deal is expected to close this fall and the combined company, BurgerFi International Inc., will trade on the Nasdaq exchange with the ticker symbol BFI.
OPES said BurgerFi had revenue of $8.2 million in the comparable third quarter of 2019 and $9 million in second quarter of this year.
BurgerFi opened seven new restaurant year-to-date through Sept. 30, and it plans to open an additional six new restaurants in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.
OPES said BurgerFi saw third-party party and app-based delivery orders increase in the quarter, up 70% in July, 155% in August and 91% in September.
“BurgerFi is a remarkable partner for OPES, and we believe it will prove to be an attractive public company given its unique positioning within the rapidly expanding ‘better burger’ space,” said Ophir Sternberg, OPES CEO and chairman, in a statement. “We look forward to consummating the business combination and expect BurgerFi to continue to show tremendous shareholder value.”
Julio Ramirez, who was named BurgerFi CEO in October, added that the company’s growth plans were enhanced by the company’s digital experience and eco-friendly footprint.
BurgerFi, founded in 2011, has 125 restaurants domestically and internationally.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News’ Top 200 research, BurgerFi’s U.S. systemwide sales were $143.6 million for the 2019 fiscal year ended in December, up 6.1% from $135.3 million in the preceding year.
The company had 117 domestic units in 2019, including 20 company-owned and 97 franchised. That was up 8.3% from 108 domestic units in 2018.
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