Existing Franchisee Acquires 120 Unit Kentucky Fried Chicken
Portfolio from Yum Brands, Inc.
DALLAS, Nov. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitra QSR KNE,
LLC (Mitra) and its capital partner, Chalak Growth Capital Fund,
LLC (Chalak), recently closed on a large acquisition of KFC/Taco
Bell units in the Northeast part of the
United States for an undisclosed amount. The transaction
includes 78 KFC units, 39 KFC/Taco Bell co-branded units, and 3
KFC/Long John Silver's co-branded units. The 120 unit transaction
spreads across 6 states (Virginia,
Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, and New Jersey).
The Mitra team is led by Co-CEOs, Pushpak
and Manish Patel. The Chalak team is headed by the
principals of The Chalak Group, Inc., who in addition to being the
private equity capital source behind the transaction, are also
owners and operators of the 100 unit chain, Genghis Grill-The
Mongolian Stir Fry, and the regional fast casual chain, Baker
Bros-American Deli. The principles of Mitra and Chalak are
also partners together in 33 additional KFC/Taco Bell units in
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. This transaction will make Mitra one
of the largest KFC franchisees in the system.
"Being one of the biggest divestures that KFC Corporation has
ever undertaken, this was a very complex transaction between
Yum Brands, Inc.'s M&A division,
KFC Corporation, Taco Bell Corporation, Wells Fargo and Mitra. It
was however, extremely amazing how all of the teams came together
to make this transaction a reality," says Manish Patel, Co-CEO of Mitra, "we are excited
about the prospects of this portfolio and incorporating all 3000+
team members into our culture and organization," he says.
"Mitra has proven to be one of our strongest partners in the
portfolio of companies we are involved in. Manish and Pushpak are
strategic thinkers that have the clear aptitude to pull off an
acquisition of this size. We see a continued bright future for both
The Chalak Group and the Mitra team," says Al Bhakta, Chief Executive Officer of The Chalak
Group, Inc.
The transaction finalized in Mid-August and the transition has
been underway since. Mitra retained all of the employees from a
unit level standpoint and above store level standpoint. There are
two corporate offices, one based in Dallas and a regional office for support
services based in the Northeast.
"Becky Brown and her entire team
at Wells Fargo exceeded our expectations as they guided us through
the process," said Pushpak Patel,
Co-CEO of Mitra, "each member of the Haynes and Boone legal team as well as the folks at
Metropolitan Capital Advisors all played a pivotal role in closing
this deal."
Haynes and Boone, LLP
represented Mitra on the transaction as their counsel, Metropolitan
Capital Advisors served as the Investment Banking firm and Wells
Fargo Restaurant Finance provided the Debt behind the
transaction.
MEDIA CONTACT
Chiara
Granado
The Chalak Group
214-382-0049
info@chalakgroup.com
ABOUT THE CHALAK GROUP
The Chalak Group, Inc. consists
of a group of young dynamic entrepreneurs that own and operate
multiple restaurant brands. In addition to owning and operating
restaurant concepts, the group raises their own private equity
capital for strategic growth and acquisition initiatives. Since the
formation of the Chalak team in 1998, the group has raised close to
$50 million in equity from private
placements. The Chalak Group has a strong history of generating
positive returns for their investors. The group currently owns and
operates 260 restaurants and has investments in various hotel
projects. The restaurants are Genghis Grill-The Mongolian Stir Fry
which is a 100 unit chain based in Dallas, the 14 unit Baker Bros-American Del
chain, a full service craft cocktail/scratch cooking concept called
Pepper Smash, franchise partner with Mitra QSR in 150+ KFC/Taco
Bell units in 12 states. For more information, visit
www.thechalakgroup.com.
ABOUT MITRA QSR
Mitra, which means "friend, partner,
and alliance", stands as the underlying philosophy of the company.
The Mitra team is led by Co-CEOs, Pushpak
Patel and Manish Patel. In
2009, Mitra opened its first KFC/Taco Bell unit in Anna, TX and established themselves as strong
operators in the YUM Brands system. An opportunity presented itself
to buy out an existing franchisee with 32 units in the 4 states of
Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma (Midwest). Over the last 2 years,
Mitra has been able to successfully turn a declining Midwest market
into a financially and operationally healthy market. Mitra
prides itself on operational excellence, strong financial controls,
and more importantly on building and providing opportunities to our
#1 asset, OUR PEOPLE.
ABOUT WELLS FARGO RESTAURANT
FINANCE
Wells Fargo Restaurant Finance division provides
financial services to corporate restaurant brands, large multi-unit
restaurant franchisees, commercial real estate investors who own
restaurant properties, private equity firms, and other investors in
restaurant concepts.
ABOUT METROPOLITAN CAPITAL ADVISORS
Since 1992,
Metropolitan Capital Advisors has closed in excess of $8 billion of debt and equity transactions on
behalf of a multitude of commercial property owners, developers and
investors. National Real Estate Investor ranked Metropolitan
Capital Advisors No. 20 on its Annual Top Financial Intermediaries
list. Metropolitan Capital Advisors' staff has expertise and
capabilities in a vast array of debt and equity services, including
construction and permanent debt, structured finance, and portfolio
transactions. MCA Senior Director Sunny Sajnani advised Mitra and The Chalak Group
throughout the transaction.
ABOUT HAYNES AND BOONE,
LLP Haynes and Boone, LLP is
an international corporate law firm with offices in Texas, New
York, California,
Washington, D.C., Mexico City and Moscow, providing a full spectrum of legal
services. With more than 525 attorneys, Haynes and Boone is ranked among the largest law firms in
the nation by The National Law Journal and has been named a "Top
Corporate Law Firm in America" (Corporate Board Member Magazine,
2001-2012).
SOURCE The Chalak Group