Brentwood Associates announced that it has sold K-MAC Holdings Corp. K-MAC, headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas, is one of the largest Taco Bell franchisees in the country, and also operates KFC and Golden Corral restaurants. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Brentwood, in partnership with Arlon Food and Agriculture Investment Program, invested in K-MAC in 2011. Since then, K-MAC significantly expanded its geographic footprint, increasing its restaurant count from 190 in 2011 to 294 today, with restaurants located across 9 states. The company has grown over the past few decades through a combination of new store openings and acquisitions. Today, K-MAC operates 271 Taco Bell restaurants, 17 KFC restaurants and 6 Golden Corral restaurants and has over 7,500 employees.
K-MAC is led by CEO Sam Fiori and President and COO Tina Reagan, who will continue to lead the business going forward. Commenting on the transaction, Fiori said, “Brentwood has been a wonderful partner over the last five years, and provided very helpful support and resources to help drive our growth.” Tina Reagan also commented, “It was very important to us to have a partner that really understood and allowed us to invest in our one-of-a-kind K-MAC culture of high performance stores and operational excellence. We look forward to continuing to build upon our success as a leading franchisee into the future.”
Brentwood and Arlon are exiting their ownership position as part of the transaction. Rahul Aggarwal, Partner at Brentwood, commented, “It’s been a pleasure to partner with Sam, Tina and the entire K-MAC team, and be part of the 50-year legacy of excellence at K-MAC. Their leadership, along with strong brand stewardship by our franchisor partners, has been a great combination.”
The sale of K-MAC is Brentwood’s third transaction in the restaurant industry in 2016. Earlier this year, Brentwood completed equity investments in Pacific Catch, a polished casual seafood concept, and Veggie Grill, a premium fast casual concept, both based in California.
North Point Advisors LLC and Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. acted as financial advisors, and Burr & Forman LLP acted as legal counsel to K-MAC in connection with the transaction.
Read the full announcement: Brentwood Associates Announces Sale of K-MAC Holdings Corp. (Business Wire)