NPC International, a major Wendy’s and Pizza Hut franchisee which declared bankruptcy last summer, has agreed to sell its restaurants and other assets to Flynn Restaurant Group and Wendy’s parent company in two separate transactions, NPC said Thursday.
The combined purchase price of the two transactions is around $801 million.
If the sales are approved, Flynn, which already is the country’s largest franchisee in terms of sales, would buy all of NPC’s Pizza Hut locations — more than 925 units — and around 225 of its approximately 383 Wendy’s units, as well as NPC’s shared services assets.
Wendy’s International LLC would purchase the other Wendy’s restaurants and assign the right to buy them to five current Wendy’s franchisees, according to the agreements.
A hearing to approve the two sales is scheduled for Jan. 15.
As part of the agreements, Flynn and Wendy’s would offer jobs to all of NPC’s restaurant workers and “substantially all” other employees.
Flynn, which currently operates more than 1,200 restaurants under four brands — Applebee’s, Taco Bell, Panera and Arby’s — had been named NPC’s stalking horse, or initial, bidder in early November, originally offering $816 million.
NPC said it would continue accepting bids from other purchasers, and Wendy's International submitted a bid for of NPC's Wendy's units. NPC then canceled bids in late November.
The purchases would pave the way for NPC to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
Flynn, with the purchase of around 1,150 restaurants from NPC, would operate more than 2,350 restaurants, employ more than 70,000 people in 45 states and the District of Colombia, and generate sales of around $3.5 billion.
“This is an excellent outcome for NPC’s Wendy’s restaurants and our team,” Carl Hauch, CEO and president of NPC’s Wendy’s division said in a release announcing the agreement. “We are very pleased that our restaurants will be joining the ranks of established, high performing restaurant franchise groups. We are grateful to Judge [Marvin] Isgur for his guidance during the mediation process and to Wendy’s, Flynn, the Wendy’s franchisee acquirers and our lenders for working diligently to allow for this result.”
The CEO and president of NPC’s Pizza Hut division, Jon Weber, expressed similar optimism about the future of the Pizza Hut restaurants.
“We are confident that NPC’s Pizza Hut restaurants will be in very good hands as part of Flynn Restaurant Group,” he said. “We have developed excellent teams at our Pizza Hut restaurants around the country, and I’m extremely proud of the way our organization rallied together in 2020 and maintained our commitment to delivering excellent quality and service.”
Flynn founder, chairman and CEO Greg Flynn said the Pizza Hut and Wendy’s restaurants would fit well into his organization.
“Flynn Restaurant Group has built our business over the last twenty plus years by focusing on managing superior operations with great teams of people at premier restaurant concepts. The Pizza Hut and Wendy’s restaurants we have agreed to acquire from NPC align perfectly with this strategy, and we’re confident that our new team members will fit right in at Flynn Restaurant Group,” he said.
The transactions, if approved, are expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.
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