Falfurrias Capital Partners, a Charlotte-based private equity firm, has secured a USD70m refinancing for Bojangles’ Restaurants, allowing the restaurant group to substantially reduce it
Falfurrias Capital Partners, a Charlotte-based private equity firm, has secured a USD70m refinancing for Bojangles’ Restaurants, allowing the restaurant group to substantially reduce its debt and lower its interest costs.
A bank group led by Bank of America and Wells Fargo and including BB&T and Regions Bank provided the senior-term loan and credit facility for the refinancing.
‘Since we acquired controlling interest in Bojangles’ nearly two years ago, we have been extremely pleased with its continued strong performance during an uncertain economy. Now this favorable transaction, secured despite a difficult credit market, gives Bojangles’ the flexibility of using its strong cash position to further reduce its debt,’ says Marc D. Oken, co-founder and managing partner of Falfurrias Capital Partners.
As part of the transaction, Bojangles’ significantly reduced its overall debt level, in part by repurchasing existing debt at a significant discount. In addition, Bojangles’ received a lower interest rate that will result in substantial interest savings.
Charlotte-based Bojangles’, ranked among North Carolina’s largest privately held companies, posted strong growth in earnings for the first six months of 2009 compared to the year earlier, on a seven per cent increase in sales. In 2008, Bojangles’ system-wide sales, which include results from 276 franchised locations, totalled USD608m.
‘Ever since our founding in 1977, customers have been attracted to our combination of a distinctive flavor, the best breakfast in the industry, and fast, friendly service. Thanks to our partnership with Falfurrias Capital Partners, we’re proud to be building on that tradition,’ says Bojangles’ president and chief executive officer Randy Kibler.
Falfurrias, founded by former Bank of America chairman and chief executive Hugh McColl Jr. and Oken, former chief financial officer of Bank of America, acquired a controlling interest in Bojangles’ Holdings in September 2007 as part of an investment group that also included Jerry Richardson, founder and president of the NFL Carolina Panthers and former chairman and chief executive of Flagstar.
