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Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital acquired Mathnasium, a math learning center franchise with more than 1,000 locations in 46 states and 12 countries. Larry Martinek helped found Mathnasium Learning Centers in 2002 in Los Angeles by using a proprietary Mathnasium Method, which takes an individualized approach to tutoring students. The brand also offers a live, web-based instructional service and had about $225 million in systemwide sales in 2020. This marks Roark’s 28th investment in a founder-owned company and 98th franchise/multi-location brand. In recent related news, Roark-backed new platform company Youth Enrichment Brands launched in October after purchasing i9 Sports, the nation’s largest youth sports league franchisor.

Adding to its list of acquisitions this year, multi-brand operator FAT Brands is set to buy Native Grill & Wings for $20 million from Wingtime, a subsidiary of Cybeck Capital Partners. The global franchisor agreed on November 22 to acquire the 23-unit sports grill franchise, which will mark FAT Brands’ third chicken wing concept. The deal is expected to close before January and will bring FAT Brands’ footprint to 2,300 stores worldwide with a combined annual systemwide sales of about $2.3 billion. This is FAT Brands’ fourth planned acquisition in 2021, including Fazoli’s in early November, Global Franchise Group in July and Twin Peaks in October.

After surpassing 500 locations this year, Seattle-based MOD Pizza announced plans to go public. The fast-casual pizza chain submitted a draft registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock, but MOD did not provide any other details on its IPO. The number of shares and price will be determined after SEC review. MOD Pizza, an acronym for Made On Demand, was founded by Scott and Ally Svenson in 2008 as a build-your-own pizza shop that also sells milkshakes, beer and wine. MOD Pizza had $470 million in global systemwide sales in 2020, according to a Franchise Times estimate. In 2018, MOD raised $33 million in equity funding and closed a $40 million credit facility. 

Private investment firm Orangewood Partners acquired Pacific Bells, one of the largest Taco Bell franchisees with more than 250 restaurants, from Partners Group. Pacific Bells’ founder and CEO Tom Cook, plus his management team, will maintain a minority stake in the company and will continue operating the restaurants. The deal is set to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, and terms were not disclosed. Pacific Bells was formed in 1986 when Cook opened his first Taco Bell stories in Tualatin, Oregon, and has since expanded its footprint to nine states—Alabama, Arkansas, California, Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. Orangewood Partners was founded in 2015 and manages more than $700 million of assets, focusing on growth-oriented transactions in partnership with founder-led businesses and entrepreneurs. Paul Hastings LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers advised Orangewood. Ropes & Gray LLP, Trinity Capital and North Point Advisors represented Pacific Bells. Pacific Bells also recently bought seven more Taco Bells in Mississippi from Little Foods, led by Phil Little who has been a Taco Bell franchisee for 36 years. Unbridled Capital provided sell-side advisory services.

Home Franchise Concepts, a subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises, added Aussie Pet Mobile—with 74 franchises and 354 pet grooming vans—to its portfolio as its eighth brand. This deal marks HFC’s first at-home pet care brand in its portfolio. Founded in 1996 by Australian husband-and-wife team Ian Moses and Vivienne McIntosh, Aussie Pet Mobile is a franchisor of mobile pet grooming services for cats and dogs that is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California. Aussie’s President Leon Feuerberg, who started out at the company as a franchisee in 2006, will continue leading day-to-day operations and will report to HFC President Scott Barrett. HFC’s portfolio also includes Budget Blinds, Tailored Living featuring PremierGarage, Concrete Craft, AdvantaClean, Kitchen Tune-Up, Bath Tune-Up and Two Maids & A Mop. HRC has a reach of more than 2,100 franchise territories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Los Angeles-based private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners sold Caring Brands International to Wellspring Capital. Caring Brands is headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, and operates under three brands: Interim HealthCare in the U.S., Bluebird Care in the U.K. and Ireland and Just Better Care in Australia. Combined, the three brands have more than 585 locations operated by more than 290 franchisees, producing about $1.3 billion in annual systemwide sales. The company, which was founded in 1966, offers skilled nursing, daily living activity assistance and end-of-life hospice care. Levine Leichtman Capital Partners invested in Caring Brands in 2015 and completed domestic and abroad add-on acquisitions plus added a company-owned branch strategy. This deal is LLCP’s eighth recent successful exit, following FlexXray, Trinity Consultants, Nothing Bundt Cakes, ZorgDomein, Jonathan Engineered Solutions, Futurewhiz and Pacific Handy Cutter.

Fieldtrip, a three-unit fast-casual rice bowl concept based in New York City, received a minority investment from Founders Table Restaurant Group, the parent of Chopt and Dos Toros, and Pendulum. Fieldtrip was founded in 2019 by James Beard Award-winning chef and TV personality JJ Johnson, who plans to use this Series A funding to finance the rapid expansion of Fieldtrip throughout Upper Manhattan plus other markets via franchise development. Johnson will remain the majority owner of Fieldtrip, while Chopt CEO Nick Marsh will join its board. Strategic growth investment firm Pendulum was co-founded by D’Rita and Robbie Robinson in 2019 and focuses on investing in businesses owned by diverse entrepreneurs. Chopt acquired Dos Toros Taqueria in January 2020 in a deal funded by L Catterton, which formed Founders Table Restaurant Group.

Starbird Chicken closed a $12 million capital raise led by KarpReilly, which plans to ignite the fast-food concept’s franchise offering and ghost kitchen expansion plans.Founded in 2016 by The Culinary Edge’s Aaron Noveshen, Starbird Chicken grew same-store sales 36 percent during the first half of 2021 with nine upscale fast-food brick-and-mortar restaurants open in and around the Bay Area of California, plus four successful virtual restaurant concepts in San Francisco and Oakland, and also inside the San Francisco International Airport and the Levi’s Stadium.

Investment firm Garnett Station Partners bought Mambo Seafood, which has 10 company-owned location and one franchise unit in Southern Texas. Mambo Seafood was founded by Mike Ho in 1996. The concept combines American, Latin and Pacific seafood cuisines to create a new cuisine, trademarked “Mambonifico.” Garnett Station Partners was founded in 2013 by Matt Perelman and Alex Sloane and invests in growth brands in sectors such as food and beverage, health and wellness, automotive and business services.

Princeton Equity Group invested in 61-unit D1 Training, which is set to accelerate D1’s nationwide expansion with more than 125 locations in development.Nashville-based D1 Training is a fitness franchise focused on athletic training for young athletes and adults alike and has trained more than 100 NFL Draft picks and 3,000 collegiate athletes, and trains 100,000 scholastic athletes per year. Founded in 2001 by former NFL player Will Bartholomew, D1 Training began franchising in 2017. Princeton Equity backed oil-change concept Strickland Brothers this spring.

Private equity firm TZP Group acquired Home Brands Group Holdings, the parent of bathroom remodeling franchise Re-Bath. Re-Bath launched its first franchise location in 1991 and has grown to more than 100 locations across the U.S. The brand has signed 17 franchise agreements year-to-date and saw close to an 80 percent increase in systemwide sales year-to-date following the increased consumer demand for bathroom remodeling projects and market share gains. Founded in 2007, TZP manages approximately $2 billion across its portfolio.

KBP Foods, led by Mike Kulp and Barry Dubin, bought 11 KFC restaurants and two KFC/Taco Bell restaurants in Virginia and North Carolina from Bacon Enterprises, who was advised by Unbridled Capital.

Management and development company S2K Hospitality bought the Hampton Roads, Virginia, Your Pie franchise, including two locations in the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach and Wards Corner in Norfolk.Founded in 2008, Your Pie is a fast-casual pizza concept featuring 10-inch customizable pizzas which has 70 locations across 19 states.

Re/Max Results, the largest Re/Max franchise in the U.S., acquired five offices in the Brainerd Lakes region of Minnesota, bringing its total footprint to 47 offices with more than 1,300 agents serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin.