family restaurant

Onex to Invest in Jack’s

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Onex Corporation has made an investment in Jack’s Family Restaurants, a regional quick-service restaurant operator, in partnership with the company’s management team.

“In Onex, we have found a partner that understands the heritage of the Jack’s brand and its emphasis on people, service and community, which have allowed the company to be successful over the years,” said Benny LaRussa Sr., CEO and owner of Jack’s. “We are excited about partnering with Onex for the next phase of Jack’s growth.”

Jack’s Family Restaurants is an operator of quick-service restaurants specializing in burgers, fried chicken, made-from-scratch biscuits, crinkle-cut fries and hand-dipped shakes. The company employs approximately 4,400 individuals across 129 company-owned stores in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.  Jack’s Family Restaurants was founded in 1960 and is headquartered south of Birmingham in Homewood, AL (www.eatatjacks.com).

“Jack’s is a differentiated concept with strong consumer loyalty driven by its focus on high-quality food and exceptional customer service, which has contributed to its success over several decades,” said Matthew Ross, a Managing Director with Onex. “We are excited to work with the entire Jack’s team as well as the LaRussa family, and look forward to continuing to invest in Jack’s people and its brand for years to come.”

Onex Corporation makes private equity investments through the Onex Partners and the ONCAP families of funds. Onex has more than $21 billion of assets under management and is based in Toronto with additional offices in New York and London (www.onex.com).  The investment in Jack’s Family Restaurants will be made by Onex Partners IV, Onex’ $5.7 billion flagship fund.

2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-26-15

Apollo to Acquire Chuck E. Cheese

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Apollo Global Management has entered into an agreement to acquire CEC Entertainment, a family dining and entertainment company and the operator of 577 Chuck E. Cheese’s stores, for approximately $1.3 billion, including the assumption of the company’s outstanding debt.

“This transaction with CEC gives us the opportunity to partner with the proven leader in family dining and entertainment,” said Scott Ross, Partner at Apollo Global Management. “Across the US, and increasingly around the world, the Chuck E. Cheese’s brand represents quality, safe and fun family entertainment.”

CEC Entertainment (NYSE: CEC) and its franchisees operate 577 Chuck E. Cheese’s stores located in 47 states and 10 foreign countries. Currently, 522 locations in the United States and Canada are owned and operated by the company. Each Chuck E. Cheese store features musical and comic robotic entertainment, games, rides and play areas, as well as a variety of dining options including pizza, sandwiches, wings, appetizers, a salad bar and desserts. CEC Entertainment is headquartered in Irving, TX (www.chuckecheese.com).

“We are excited about this transaction with Apollo, as it recognizes the value of CEC’s global brand, strong cash flows and growth prospects while providing our shareholders with an immediate and substantial premium,” said Michael Magusiak, President and Chief Executive Officer of CEC. “Apollo brings significant industry expertise and financial resources, and we look forward to working with them to further grow CEC domestically and internationally.”

Deutsche Bank Securities, Morgan Stanley and UBS Securities are serving as financial advisors to Apollo, and, together with Credit Suisse, provided debt financing commitments.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. is serving as financial advisor to CEC, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges is serving as the company’s legal advisor. Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison are serving as Apollo’s legal advisors.

Apollo is a global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong. Apollo has total assets under management of approximately $113 billion in private equity, credit and real estate funds invested across a core group of nine industries (www.agm.com).

Earlier this month, Apollo held the final close of its latest investment fund, Apollo Investment Fund VIII, LP, with third-party capital commitments of $17.5 billion. Apollo and affiliated investors, including senior professionals of the firm, committed an additional $880 million of capital bringing the total size of the new fund to approximately $18.4 billion. The original third-party hard cap for Fund VIII was $15 billion but was raised to $17.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013 in order to meet the demand from institutional investors.

“We look forward to partnering with CEC’s exceptional management team, talented employees and franchise partners to support the continued growth of the company,” said Lance Milken, Partner at Apollo Global Management.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-16-14