Los Angeles — FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. has acquired the Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill restaurant chain from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. The $30 million acquisition marks the company’s first foray into barbecue and expands FAT Brands’ portfolio of polished dining chains, which currently includes Twin Peaks. The purchase is expected to bring 61 new corporate locations under FAT Brands’ umbrella.
“We continue to be selective and opportunistic in our acquisition strategy, targeting brands that are both scalable and synergistic with our existing platform,” says Rob Rosen, co-CEO of FAT Brands. “We are pleased to add another polished dining brand, which will provide more options for our sales team to offer our franchise partners to further their new unit development.”
“As we have spent the year focusing on digesting past acquisitions, we’ve also been amplifying the explosive growth in our polished dining vertical,” says Andy Wiederhorn, chairman and founder of FAT Brands. “Having a strong player in the barbecue space provides another arrow in our quiver for the polished dining segment and opens the door for additional growth strategies for our sister brands. We look forward to generating impressive results, similar to our Johnny Rockets integration, which we also acquired from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners.”
“We are excited to become a part of the FAT Brands family and benefit from their purchasing power and scale,” says Hal Lawlor, president of Smokey Bones. “Additionally, we see great opportunity in being a part of a leading global franchising company to further our growth with new franchised locations.”
Kroll Investment Banking acted as exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to Smokey Bones and Sun Capital Partners on the transaction.
FAT Brands is a leading global franchising company that strategically acquires, markets and develops fast-casual, quick-service, casual dining and polished casual dining concepts around the world. The company currently owns 17 restaurant brands and franchises and owns approximately 2,300 units worldwide. For more information, visit www.fatbrands.com.
Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill is a full-service barbecue restaurant chain with 61 locations across 16 states. For more information, visit www.SmokeyBones.com.
SOURCE: FAT Brands, Inc.