HIG Capital’s portfolio company Cerca Trova Restaurant Concepts, formerly known as T-Bird Restaurant Group, has acquired 45 corporate-owned Outback Steakhouse restaurants from its franchisor, Bloomin’ Brands.
The acquisition includes all stores in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Cerca Trova is now the exclusive franchisee of Outback Steakhouse in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, and remains the largest domestic franchisee of Bloomin’ Brands, operating over 100 Outback locations across the western region (approximately 15 per cent of all the Outback locations in the US).
“We are excited to extend our presence outside of California,” says Steve Weigel, chief executive officer of Cerca Trova. “The Outback concept is among the strongest in the casual dining sector, with a brand that customers have associated with high-quality and value for nearly three decades. We look forward to building on our long and successful track-record of representing Bloomin’ with well-run, popular restaurants.”
Elliot Maluth, managing director at HIG, says: “We are very excited about this add-on acquisition, which roughly doubles the size of our business. We upgraded and expanded our management team since making our initial investment in 2015, and believe that the new team, led by Steve Weigel and Mike Wong, will continue to elevate the brand and the customer experience.”
