USA – Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands, has completed the acquisition of The Habit Restaurants, following the approval by The Habit Burger Grill stockholders.
Yum! Brands, the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of units, acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of The Habit Burger Grill for US$14 per share in cash or a total of approximately US$375 million.
Founded in California in 1969, The Habit Burger Grill offers a flavor-forward variety of made-to-order items including charburgers, hand-filleted and marinated chargrilled chicken sandwiches and sushi-grade chargrilled ahi tuna sandwiches.
The Habit Burger Grill operates nearly 300 company-owned and franchised restaurants across the US and in China.
The acquisition of the company adds the fast-casual concept to Yum! Brands’ portfolio of iconic global restaurant brands.
Commenting on the acquisition, David Gibbs, CEO, Yum! Brands said: “[Today] marks an important milestone in our company’s history as we officially welcome The Habit Burger Grill to the Yum! family.
“The Habit Burger Grill is a sweet spot within fast-casual because of its delicious California-inspired menu with premium ingredients at a QSR-like value, strong unit economics and tremendous untapped growth potential in the U.S. and internationally.
“We couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds for The Habit Burger Grill and believe our acquisition of this trend-forward brand is a ‘win-win-win’ all around.
As part of the terms of the acquisition, The Habit Burger Grill will remain based in California, and will continue to be managed by The Habit Burger Grill’s President and CEO Russell Bendel and CFO Ira Fils. Mr. Bendel will report directly to David Gibbs.
“This is a historic day for The Habit Burger Grill and we’re extremely proud to join the Yum! family of brands,” Bendel said.
“Being part of Yum! will take The Habit Burger Grill to the next level by leveraging Yum!’s global scale, resources and franchising capabilities to strengthen and significantly grow our beloved brand for many years to come.”
