Movers and shakersMovers and shakers

Sarah E. Lockyer

The Nation’s Restaurant News Top 200 universe, including the Top 100 and the Second 100 qualifiers, saw merger-and-acquisition activity grow significantly from years past, resulting in bellwether corporate entities such as Burger King Corp. and Landry’s Restaurants Inc. being replaced by new owners that had never before booked foodservice revenue. 


Between bankruptcies, franchisor-franchisee transactions and private-equity deals, the restaurant industry saw a wave of deal making that, while not as big as the swell of transactions in the heyday from 2006 to 2008, was still well above the activity registered in 2009. 


According to NRN Top 200 research, at least 40 transactions took place or were announced in the period from...