Fast food giant Arby’s Restaurant Group is completing its nearly $3 billion acquisition of Buffalo Wild Wings, creating a new company — and vowing to pursue other “strategic additions” — in the process.
Sandy Springs-based Arby's said on Monday it completed the deal that was first announced in November. Backed by the Roark Capital Group private equity firm, the roast beef purveyor paid about $2.9 billion to acquire the casual sports bar and wing chain that was headquartered in Minneapolis.
The newly minted Inspire Brands, Inc. will include both well-established chains, as well as "emerging brand" R Taco, a Texas-founded chain with 22 restaurants in five states. Overall, Inspire Brands will include more than 4,600 restaurants in 15 countries.
Those restaurants’ total sales in 2017 exceeded $7.6 billion, according to a news release. Inspire will remain headquartered in Atlanta and have a “support center” in Minneapolis, officials said.
“We believe the time is right to create a different kind of restaurant company — one with a broad portfolio of distinct brands across a full spectrum of restaurant occasions,” Paul Brown, CEO of Arby’s Restaurant Group and now Inspire Brands, said in the release.
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