DALLAS, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Brinker
International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT) today announced it has acquired
Pepper Dining Holding Corp., a franchisee of 103
Chili's® Grill & Bar restaurants primarily located
in the Northeast and Southeast. The purchase price of $106.5 million was funded with availability under
Brinker's existing credit facility and the acquisition is expected
to be EPS accretive in fiscal year 2016.
"This acquisition represents a compelling opportunity to create
value for our shareholders and generate additional earnings and
cash flow growth," said Wyman
Roberts, CEO and President of Brinker International and
President of Chili's Grill & Bar. "We plan to leverage our
strong Chili's operations infrastructure, roll out the brand's new
loyalty program to all restaurants and complete reimaging of the
portfolio. More broadly, Brinker remains committed to our other
franchise partners and looks forward to continuing to support their
growth and expansion."
This transaction fits within Brinker's capital allocation
strategy of investing in the business, managing debt within
investment grade metrics and returning cash to shareholders.
Any capital needs of the acquired restaurants will be funded with
cash generated from the restaurants with no expected impact to
share repurchase capacity.
The company will provide more details about the acquisition on
its upcoming fourth quarter earnings call in August, including
transition costs and earnings accretion, which remains subject to
completion of normal asset valuation process.
Brinker International, Inc. is one of the world's leading casual
dining restaurant companies. Founded in 1975 and based in
Dallas, Texas, as of March 25, 2015, Brinker owned, operated, or
franchised 1,629 restaurants under the names Chili's®
Grill & Bar (1,580 restaurants) and Maggiano's Little
Italy® (49 restaurants).
About Brinker
Brinker International, Inc. is one of
the world's leading casual dining restaurant companies. Founded in
1975 and based in Dallas, Texas,
as of March 25, 2015, Brinker owned,
operated, or franchised 1,629 restaurants under the names
Chili's® Grill & Bar (1,580 restaurants) and
Maggiano's Little Italy® (49 restaurants).
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained in
this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties and, consequently, could be affected by general
business and economic conditions, financial and credit market
conditions, credit availability, reduced disposable income, the
impact of competition, the impact of mergers, acquisitions,
divestitures and other strategic transactions, franchisee success,
the seasonality of the company's business, increased minimum wages,
increased health care costs, adverse weather conditions, future
commodity prices, product availability, fuel and utility costs and
availability, terrorist acts, consumer perception of food safety,
changes in consumer taste, health epidemics or pandemics, changes
in demographic trends, availability of employees, unfavorable
publicity, the company's ability to meet its business strategy
plan, acts of God, governmental regulations, inflation, technology
failures, and failure to protect the security of data of our guests
and teammates.
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SOURCE Brinker International, Inc.