Friday March 17, 1:02 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Restaurant Teams International, Inc. Inks Definitive Agreements to Acquire Fatburger Chain
LONGVIEW, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2000--Restaurant Teams International, Inc. (OTCBB:RTIN - news) announced today that is has signed definitive agreements to acquire the Fatburger hamburger chain from FB Holding Corp.
The acquisition is scheduled to close no later than April 14, 2000 and is an all cash transaction subject to financing contingencies.
Fatburger, founded in 1952, currently operates 13 company owned Fatburger restaurants in the Los Angeles market and franchises 21 restaurants in Southern California and Las Vegas under the Fatburger brand.
Curtis A. Swanson, Chief Financial Officer of the company stated, ``We are very optimistic about the acquisition of Fatburger. The Fatburger concept captures a unique and winning niche in the burger segment with excellent margins and sales to investment ratios. In addition, the opportunity to acquire a chain with the history and expansion potential of Fatburger represents a significant step in realizing Restaurant Teams International, Inc.'s growth strategy of becoming a multi-concept holding company, especially coming on the heels of our recent Tanner's and RSI acquisitions.'
Over the years the Fatburger name has become synonymous with the Los Angeles lifestyle. When the David Letterman show moved to New York in 1993, Mr. Letterman included going to Fatburger (No. 3) on his ``Top Ten' list of things the show would miss most about L.A. Mel Gibson can be seen eating Fatburger french fries in Lethal Weapon 4 and George Foreman rated Fatburger the best hamburger he has ever eaten.
Mr. Swanson also commented, ``Fatburger is a natural addition to our restaurant mix as we continue our strategy of becoming a multi-concept holding company dedicated to increasing shareholder value. With a 46 year operating history and experienced management team, we expect Fatburger to establish itself as a strong regional and then national brand over the next 5 years.'
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are generally preceded by words such as ``believes,' ``expects,' ``anticipates,' or ``intends.' Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to competitive conditions, real estate zoning and permitting complications, government regulations, and general conditions in the restaurant market.
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Contact:
Restaurant Teams International Inc.
Curtis A. Swanson, 903/295-6800 |
