P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. has agreed to a purchase by investment firms TriArtisan Capital Partners Inc. and Paulson & Co. Inc., according a notice sent to investors and reported late Thursday by Bloomberg News.
The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based casual-dining chain has been owned by New York-based private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners L.P. since 2012, when it took P.F. Chang’s and its sibling fast-casual Pei Wei Asian Kitchen brand private in a deal estimated at $1.1 billion.
Centerbridge will reportedly retain ownership of 200-unit Pei Wei, which split off from P.F. Chang’s in 2017 and moved its headquarters to Irving, Texas.
Centerbridge and the board of P.F. Chang’s parent Wok Parent LLC had been exploring a possible sale since July, when they retained Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch and Barclays to oversee the process.
Bloomberg reported earlier in the week that the value of the deal was about $700 million, and at least one source familiar with the deal told Nation’s Restaurant News that financing was in place.
According to Bloomberg, the investor notice said more than $675 million of P.F. Chang’s total debt would be taken out at par. “P.F. Chang’s liabilities include about $375 million of secured debt including $5 million of capital leases, a $317 million first-lien term loan, $25 million of revolver borrowings and $28 million of secured notes provided by the sponsor,” the report said.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro booked an estimated $912.9 million in U.S. systemwide sales in the fiscal year ended December 2017, up from $906.2 million in the preceding year, according to the most recent NRN Top 200 report.
Pei Wei Asian Kitchen had an estimated $339.9 million in U.S. systemwide sales in 2017, down from $357.2 million in the preceding year, according to NRN Top 200 estimates.
The P.F. Chang’s China Bistro was founded in 1993 by chef Philip Chiang and Paul Fleming.
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