Back Yard Burgers | Checkers | Shoney's | Ryan's | Representative Transactions
Morgan Keegan’s Restaurant team is a leading financial advisor in the industry and is dedicated to providing a full range of services to our clients across multiple segments including fast food, quick casual, specialty, polished casual and fine dining.
Case Studies
Back Yard Burgers
Back Yard Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ: BYBI) was acquired by Cherokee Advisors, LLC (“Cherokee”). Back Yard Burgers operates and franchises quick service restaurants, primarily within the hamburger segment of the industry. The company’s restaurants specialize in charbroiled, freshly prepared food made with high quality ingredients, including made-to-order gourmet Black Angus hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, fresh salads, chili and hand-dipped milkshakes. There are approximately 180 company owned and franchised restaurants in 20 states. Cherokee Advisors LLC is an Atlanta-based firm.
Return to top
Checkers
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. (“Checkers”) was acquired by an affiliate of Wellspring Capital Management LLC (“Wellspring”). Checkers is the largest double drive-thru restaurant chain in the United States. The company develops, owns, operates and franchises quick-service Checkers and Rally's double drive-thru restaurants. In 2005, Checkers/Rally's was awarded two of the industry's most coveted recognitions: Best Drive-Thru in America 2005 in the QSR Drive-Thru Study for Rally's, and Nation's Restaurant News Hot! Again Award. Checkers/Rally's is the Official Burger and Drive-Thru Restaurant of NASCAR.
Founded in 1995, Wellspring is a New York-based private equity firm with more than $2 billion in equity capital under management. The firm takes controlling positions in promising middle-market companies where it can realize substantial value by contributing innovative operating and financing strategies and capital. Wellspring's limited partners include some of the largest and most respected institutional investors in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The firm consistently ranks among the top-performing private equity funds specializing in the middle market.
“We were fortunate that Morgan Keegan became involved in this process. Their expertise in restaurant buyout and sale-leaseback transactions was instrumental in achieving this successful result.” — Carl Stanton, Partner, Wellspring Capital Management LLC
Return to top
Shoney's
Shoney’s, a portfolio company of Lone Star Funds, sold its franchise rights and restaurant operating assets to Royal Capital Corp. Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Shoney’s restaurants are full-service, family dining restaurants, which feature all-you-care-to-eat breakfast, lunch and dinner food and salad bars in addition to a cooked-to-order menu. Shoney’s offers a diverse menu to appeal to a broad spectrum of guests’ tastes and includes traditional items such as hamburgers, sandwiches, chicken, steak, seafood and desserts.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Royal Capital Corp. is the largest Church’s Chicken franchisee with 112 units located throughout Arizona, California and Texas.
Return to top
Ryan's Restaurant Group, Inc.
In November 2006, privately held Buffets Inc. (“Buffets”) acquired Ryan's Restaurant Group Inc. (“Ryan’s”) for $16.25 a share for a total transaction value of approximately $876 million. To partially finance the transaction, Buffets used sale leaseback financing provided by Fortress Investment Group, LLC on 282 restaurant properties for approximately $567 million. Following the completion of the acquisition, Ryan’s continued operating as a separate division of Buffets.
Headquartered in Greer, S.C., Ryan’s operated approximately 334 Ryan’s Grill, Buffet & Bakery and Fire Mountain restaurants in 23 states primarily throughout the Southern and Midwestern United States. The transaction created the nation’s largest buffet restaurant chain and one of the five largest companies in the casual and mid-scale dining segment. At the time of closing, the combined company had annual revenues of approximately $1.7 billion, a national footprint and approximately 672 restaurants principally under the well-respected Ryan's Grill, Buffet & Bakery, Fire Mountain, Old Country Buffet and HomeTown Buffet brands.
Morgan Keegan served as financial advisor to Fortress Investment Group, LLC in connection with the sale leaseback transaction.
Return to top
Representative Transactions
Return to top
