Ovation Brands acquired by Food Management Partners

Food Management Partners has acquired Ovation Brands, owner of five buffet brands and one casual-dining concept, the company announced Thursday.

Through the deal, FMP will bring the Ryan’s, HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet, Country Buffet, Fire Mountain and Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse brands into its fold. With this addition, San Antonio-based FMP will operate roughly 500 restaurants representing more than $1 billion in sales, the company said.

“We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of Ovation Brands,” said Peter Donbavand, FMP’s vice president of business development. “The buffet business is one with which we are very familiar, and the chance to acquire a category leader does not come along often.”

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

In March, Ovation Brands announced that it would be exploring strategic alternatives for its future, including potential sale of the business.

“We have proven that our reinvention (of our five buffet brands) works and have demonstrated incredible success,” then-CEO Anthony Wedo said at the time. “We are now poised to expand our reinvention to other markets.”
 

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