FAT Brands Announces Acquisition of Smokey Bones Barbecue Chain

Global Franchisor Doubles Down on Polished Dining Segment

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: FAT) (“FAT Brands” or the “Company”) today announces it has acquired the Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill restaurant chain from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. The 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 increase annual adjusted EBITDA by approximately $10 million, and bring 61 new corporate locations under FAT Brands’ umbrella. The $30 million transaction was funded from the Company’s existing securitization facilities.

“We continue to be selective and opportunistic in our acquisition strategy, targeting brands that are both scalable and synergistic with our existing platform,” said 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,” said 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,” said 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.

For more information, visit www.fatbrands.com.

About FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands
FAT Brands (NASDAQ: FAT) 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: Round Table Pizza, Fatburger, Marble Slab Creamery, Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s, Twin Peaks, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Buffalo’s Cafe & Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Pretzelmaker, Elevation Burger, Native Grill & Wings, Yalla Mediterranean and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, and franchises and owns approximately 2,300 units worldwide. For more information, please visit www.fatbrands.com.