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Restaurant Industry News
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Sunday June 11th, 2006 |
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Two New York Private Equity Firms Agree to Acquire Bravo Development, Inc.
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Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. and Castle Harlan, Inc., both New York-based private-equity investment firms, announced today that they are partnering to acquire Bravo Development, Inc., operator and owner of 52 casual upscale Italian restaurant concepts under the Brio Tuscan Grille and Bravo! Cucina Italiana names. |
The company is based in Columbus, OH and operates in 19 states in the U.S. with combined revenue in excess of $215 million.
Hal Rosser, a founder and managing director of BRS, called BDI "two great Italian concepts that offer a high value proposition to the consumer and are well-positioned to expand their footprint in the U.S."
"The company has exhibited a strong track record for growing its store base and maintaining its quality brand name," he said. "We firmly believe that BDI will be able to maintain its current pace of new store growth."
David Pittaway, a Castle Harlan senior managing director, said, "The Company has an effective and experienced management team, led by its co-founders Rick Doody, CEO, and Chris Doody, President and COO, who will own approximately 20% of the Company. They have done an impressive job of creating two distinctive but complementary Italian brand concepts that are the leaders in the casual upscale dining category and we are delighted to be their new partners."
Rick Doody, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are excited by the opportunity to work with experienced restaurant investors who will help us take our concepts to the next level. We look forward to further expansion of Brio and Bravo with our new partners."
Bravo Development, Inc. was founded in 1992 in Columbus, OH with the opening of the first Bravo! store. The Company grew steadily and opened its first Brio store in 1999.
BRS and Castle Harlan previously jointly invested in the McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, now a public company.
BRS, founded in 1995, specializes in management buyouts and recapitalizations of high quality, middle market companies with strong market positions and/or growth potential. BRS currently manages approximately $1.2 billion of committed capital in two institutional private equity funds. The principals of BRS have worked together since the mid-1980s (originally at Citicorp Venture Capital) and have collectively invested in over 60 companies with a total value in excess of $12.6 billion. Their prior restaurant investments include Real Mex Restaurants (operating the El Torito, Chevy's and Acapulco chains), Il Fornaio (America), Corner Bakery, McCormick & Schmick's, Restaurant Associates, California Pizza Kitchen, Steak & Ale / Bennigan's, DavCo, and Au Bon Pain.
Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Its team of 10 managing directors, including its founders, has completed 45 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of $8 billion. It is currently investing its fourth fund, Castle Harlan Partners IV, which closed in August 2003 with capital commitments of $1.2 billion. The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private-equity business in the late 1960s.
Castle Harlan's current portfolio companies, which employ more than 42,000 people, include Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories; Horizon Lines, one of the largest U.S. container shipping companies, and Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, which is the operator and franchisor of 480 family restaurants.
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