Friedman Fleischer & Lowe Acquires Church's Chicken
San Francisco-based private-equity firm becomes parent company of the home-style chicken restaurant chain.
-- Chain Leader, 8/10/2009 5:15:00 PM
PRESS RELEASE: ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Church's Chicken, one of the largest quick-service chicken concepts in the world, is pleased to announce the completion of its sale to San Francisco-based private equity firm, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe LLC (FFL). Church's Chicken was formerly owned by Arcapita Bank B.S.C. (c), a leading international investment firm headquartered in Bahrain. FFL and Arcapita announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell Church's in June.
"Now that the transaction is official, the Church's management team welcomes the opportunity to work closely with the team at FFL to explore new opportunities for the brand," said Harsha V. Agadi, President and CEO of Church's Chicken. "We look forward to further mapping out our long-term growth plans both internationally and domestically with this highly capable and experienced investor team," Agadi added.
"We are excited to partner with Harsha and the entire management team as we embark on the Company's next phase of growth. The opportunity for unit expansion domestically and internationally, as well as for sales growth through menu expansion is compelling." said David L. Lowe, vice chairman of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, in a press statement.
With over 1,650 locations in 22 countries worldwide, Church's serves traditional home-style fried chicken and other popular chicken products in a simple, no-frills restaurant setting. The chain focuses on providing complete meals and snacks at low prices for a cross section of multicultural, cross-generational customers while emphasizing value, quality, and family/fellowship. The fried chicken concept operates under two brands worldwide: Church's Chicken and Texas Chicken.
About Church's Chicken
Founded in San Antonio, Texas, in 1952, Church's Chicken(r) is a highly recognized brand name in the QSR sector and is one of the largest quick-service chicken concepts in the world. Church's Chicken(r) serves freshly prepared, high quality, flavorful chicken and tenders with signature sides and hand-made from scratch biscuits at low prices. Church's differentiates from its competitors in care and attention given in preparation of food and is positioned as the Value Leader in the Chicken QSR category. As of July 2009, the Church's system consisted of more than 1,650 locations worldwide in 22 countries, with system sales approaching $1.2 billion. For more information on Church's Chicken, visit www.churchs.com.
About Friedman Fleischer & Lowe
Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, LLC is a San Francisco-based private equity firm with approximately $2.5 billion under management that is focused on investing in U.S. middle-market companies. Formed in 1998, FFL's strategy is to invest in companies where the substantial strategic and operating expertise of FFL's principals can help management improve margins, make acquisitions and grow earnings. FFL's targeted sectors include consumer products, financial services, outsourced business services, education, healthcare and marketing and media. Previous investments in the consumer products industry include Tempur-Pedic International, Discovery Foods, and Milestone AV Technologies. Other significant investments include CapitalSource, Korn/Ferry International, Guardian Home Care and GeoVera Insurance Group. For more information on Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, visit www.fflpartners.com.
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