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- Restaurant Brands New Zealand (RBD) has bought 69 fast food stores in California
- The buy includes 58 KFC stores and 11 Taco Bell restaurants, as well as a head office in Southern California
- All up, the consumer stock paid US$80.7 million (around A$109.45 million) from its existing debt facilities to complete the purchase
- That price is up from the US$73 million (about A$99 million) sales figure RBD announced in December, 2019.
- Restaurant Brands shares last traded for $8.80 in August 2019
Restaurant Brands New Zealand (RBD) has bought 69 fast food stores in California.
The buy includes 58 KFC stores and 11 Taco Bell restaurants, as well as a head office in Southern California. All up, the consumer stock paid US$80.7 million (around A$109.45 million) from its existing debt facilities to complete the purchase.
While the price tag includes reimbursements for store refurbishments, it’s up from the US$73 million (about A$99 million) sales figure RBD announced in December, 2019.
On Monday, a U.S. franchisee signed off on the acquisition, paving the way for the deal’s completion by September 2.
Originally, RBD was looking to buy 70 stores in California, but that number was brought down to 69 stores as the acquisition was finalised.
Back in December, when the deal was first announced, RBD maintained it would continue to employ the 1100 part-time and 500 full-time staffers across the Californian stores.
Speaking to the buy’s completion, RBD Group CO Russel Creedy said the stores had survived significant disruption to maintain positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) during the COVID-19 economic downturn.
βThe resilience of the Restaurant Brands business during the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits of investing in trusted brands and maintaining geographically diverse operations,” Russel stated.
“We are pleased with the strong trading performance of the acquired stores during the COVID-19 pandemic in California and are excited about the future prospects in the U.S. market,β he continued.
Restaurant Brands shares last traded for $8.80 in August, 2019.
