York Capital Management has signed a definitive agreement to buy the parent company of Houlihan’s, the Leawood, Kan.-based restaurant operator said Monday. York is buying Houlihan’s Restaurants Inc. from a subsidiary of Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison. Terms were not disclosed, but HRI said the transaction was expected to close in December.
Restaurant veteran Michael Archer is investing along with York, and will become the company’s CEO. Archer has previously served of president of Applebee’s, TGI Fridays and Morton’s The Steakhouse, and chief operating officer of Sullivan’s Steakhouse and Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse. Current HRI chairman and CEO Bob Hartnett will leave his post, but will remain involved in the company as a consultant.
HRI said it owns and operates 31 Houlihan’s restaurants and franchises an additional 42 locations. HRI’s brands also include five J. Gilbert’s Wood-Fired Steaks locations, four Bristol Seafood Grill restaurants, six Devon Seafood Grill and Bar restaurants, and a single Chequers Seafood & Steak in Atlanta.
“I am excited to partner with York Capital and the company’s management team to continue developing HRI into one of the leading diversified restaurant companies in the industry,” Archer said in a statement. “We are extremely impressed with the company’s quality of food and service, high guest satisfaction, and value proposition and believe there is tremendous opportunity for growth. We plan to continue evolving our existing brands through continually refreshing the menu and meaningfully investing in our restaurant base. We are providing capital and adding to the talented management team in place to support growth through the development of new corporate owned and franchised restaurants across all of the existing concepts. In addition, we believe that HRI represents an attractive platform for growth through the development or acquisition of new concepts.”
“I am proud of what the company and its employees have been able to achieve during my tenure,” Hartnett said in a statement. “As part of their diligence, York Capital and Mike visited all of the company restaurants, and we spent a substantial amount of time with them. I believe that York Capital and Mike Archer represent ideal partners to continue growing and evolving HRI and its concepts. I am excited to be working with them to help grow the company.”
York said it manages about $25 billion in assets and employs approximately 60 investment professionals and more than 200 employees, primarily in New York City, London and Hong Kong.
Correction: Nov. 9, 2015 An earlier version of this article misstated the number of Houlihan’s restaurants, which currently stands at 31 company-owned units and 42 franchised locations.
Correction: Nov. 10, 2015 An earlier version of this article misstated HRI’s headquarters location, which is Leawood, Kan.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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