BurgerFi completed its acquisition of Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings, the company announced Thursday, paying $156.6 million to L Catterton for the casual dining chain.
That’s $4.7 million less than BurgerFi said it intended to pay for the 61-unt chain when it announced the deal last month.
“We are very excited to officially welcome Anthony’s into the BurgerFi family,” Ophir Sternberg, BurgerFi’s executive chairman, said in a statement. “Anthony’s is our first acquisition in our long-term inorganic growth strategy to build a premium multi-brand platform. It represents a fantastic complement to the BurgerFi brand, and we are well-positioned to strategically grow Anthony’s as it fits in our focus on high-quality fast-casual dining restaurants.”
BurgerFi executives have previously said they intend to grow a small-footprint, fast-casual iteration of Anthony’s, rather than the casual dining brand. Currently, there is just one of the 1,700-square-foot fast-casual units in operation, with two to three more planned for next year.
With the acquisition, Ian Baines, Anthony’s CEO, becomes CEO of BurgerFi. Julio Ramirez remains CEO and president of the BurgerFi brand and Patrick Renna will become president of the Anthony’s brand.
“The acquisition of Anthony’s marks the beginning of a new chapter or BurgerFi as we establish a restaurant platform well-positioned for growth and success,” Baines said in a statement. “We are committed to our growth strategy here at BurgerFi, and will continue to scan the market for potential M&A opportunities that we can leverage and unlock value from.”
Anthony’s joins BurgerFi’s platform with $71.1 million in debt being assumed by its new owner.
According to federal securities documents, Anthony’s reported revenue of $59.96 million for the six months ended June 30, as well as an operating loss of $4.68 million. In 2020, it had system sales of $107.1 million.
Anthony’s reported a net loss of $45.6 million for the year ended Dec. 30, 2019. And for the 12 months ended January 4, it posted a net loss of $20.6 million.
As the pandemic began, Anthony’s failed to comply with its loan requirements and received a forbearance. By the end of 2020, the chain had violated the terms of the forbearance.
Anthony’s applied for and received a $10 million Paycheck Protection Program loan, which it returned some months later.
In its filing, BurgerFi acknowledged the risks of acquiring the pizza-and-wing chain, noting that the acquisition will be costly and that the proposed creation of a “premium multi-brand platform” may not be successful.
“The combination of the BurgerFi and ACFP businesses may not lead to the growth and success of the combined business that we believe will occur,” the chain said.
The planned acquisition comes less than a year after Palm Beach, Fla.-based BurgerFi, a better burger chain, went public in a reverse merger with Special Purpose Acquisition Company Opes Acquisition.
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