M&A Deal Summary

Sentinel Capital Partners and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Acquire Church s Chicken

On December 22, 1999, private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen acquired restaurant Church s Chicken for 35M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Sentinel Capital Partners’ 2nd and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen’s 1st transaction in the Restaurants sector.
  • This is Sentinel Capital Partners’ 13th and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Sentinel Capital Partners’ 12th and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen’s 2nd transaction in the United States.
  • This is Sentinel Capital Partners’ 1st and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen’s 2nd transaction in Georgia.
Investment Fate
  • Church s Chicken was divested to a consortium of buyers in 2004 for 390M USD.
  • Church s Chicken was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2009.
  • Church s Chicken was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2021.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 1999-12-22
Target Church s Chicken
Sector Restaurants
Buyer(s) Sentinel Capital Partners
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
Deal Type Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)
Deal Value 35M USD

Target

Church s Chicken

Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Church's Chicken is a chicken quick-service restaurant serving more than three million customers weekly through restaurants in 22 countries and more than 30 states in the U.S. The Company serves affordable freshly prepared, high-quality, flavorful chicken and tenders with signature sides and handmade, from-scratch biscuits. Church's Chicken was founded in 1952 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

Sentinel Capital Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1995
PE ASSETS 11.2B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Sentinel Capital Partners is a private equity firm that targets investments in middle-market companies with strong management and 'attractive growth prospects'. Sentinel looks to invest up to $400 million of equity in companies generating EBITDA of up to $65 million. Sectors of interest include business services/outsourcing, consumer products and services, food and restaurants, franchising, and manufacturing. Prospective transaction situations include management buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures, take-privates, and growth capital financings. Sentinel Capital Partners was formed in 1995 and is based in New York, New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 13 of 96
Sector (Restaurants) 2 of 11
Type (Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)) 7 of 29
State (Georgia) 1 of 4
Country (United States) 12 of 89
Year (1999) 4 of 4
Size (of disclosed) 13 of 16
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1999-12-22 Falcon Holdings Management

Westlake, Texas, United States

Falcon Holdings, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, owns, operates, and franchises 97 Church's® Chicken Restaurants in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Dayton, Richmond, and Columbus, making it the largest franchisee in the worldwide Church's system. Falcon has also secured exclusive rights to develop the Church's brand in Indianapolis and Richmond, and is well positioned to build and acquire additional restaurants within the fragmented Church's system.

Buy $35M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2000-01-03 Border Foods

Mount Prospect, Illinois, United States

Border Foods, Inc. is a provider of ingredients and packaged food products to the Mexican food industry.

Sell -
Buyer

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Category Company
Founded 1972
Sector Restaurants
Employees2,130
Revenue 259M USD (2015)
DESCRIPTION

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. is a developer, operator and franchiser of quick-service restaurants ("QSRs" or "restaurants") under the trade name, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 2 of 2
Sector (Restaurants) 1 of 1
Type (Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)) 1 of 1
State (Georgia) 2 of 2
Country (United States) 2 of 2
Year (1999) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
1997-08-18 Cinnabon

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Cinnabon, Inc. is a provider in the cinnamon roll bakery category. Cinnabon operates and franchises 358 retail cinnamon roll bakeries.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2003-04-16 Seattle Coffee Company

Seattle, Washington, United States

Seattle Coffee Company includes the Seattle's Best Coffee(R) (SBC) and Torrefazione Italia(R) Coffee (TI) brand. Seattle's Best Coffee (SBC) was founded in 1970 and is one of the oldest brands in the domestic specialty coffee business. All coffees are selected from some of the highest quality Arabica beans throughout the world, and are roasted using Northern European roasting techniques. SBC produces a complete line of whole bean and ground coffees including Organic and Fair Trade coffees as well as flavored coffees.The Torrefazione Italia Coffee brand, founded in 1986, mirrors the unique roasting preferences of various Italian regions. These classic Italian coffees are known for their full bodied, highly aromatic and intense flavor. Torrefazione whole bean coffees include Venezia(TM), Milano(TM), Perugia(TM), Palermo(TM), Montecatini(TM), Roma(R), Sardegna(TM) and Napoli(TM).

Sell $72M
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