ATLANTA, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Hooters of America, Inc. announced that its oldest franchisee, R.M.D. Corp. of Louisville, Kentucky has reached an agreement for the sale of its assets to a corporation headed by one of its International Franchisee groups. The buyer is an entity which controls the franchisee rights for Australia and New Zealand and currently operates two Hooters Restaurants in Australia. South Pacific Partners, Ltd (SPP) has entered into a letter agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of R.M.D. Corp. (RMD). SPP is the operating arm of Australian Enterprises, L.P. (AE), the Hooters franchisee for Australia and New Zealand.
RMD is owned by Neal Harding, who opened the first ever Hooters franchise location in Louisville, Kentucky in 1988. Today the RMD franchise group consists of 39 Hooters in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The transaction includes the 39 restaurants, certain real estate holdings and the future development rights for Hooters within the four states.
Mike Flinn, a principal of AE and SPP stated, "The opportunity to combine our operations with RMD's will allow us to leverage economies of scale and accelerate growth. RMD has built a business over the past 20 years which has unparalleled operations, great infrastructure and a very committed team of highly qualified personnel. In addition, there is a considerable amount of growth we can pursue, in RMD's territory, along with our existing plans for expansion in Australia and New Zealand." On a combined basis, the new company will operate 41 Hooters restaurants and expects to open several locations in 2008. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
Neal Harding, RMD's owner, stated, "This has been a wonderful opportunity over the past twenty years to develop our restaurants and help grow the Hooters brand. Our people and the Hooters brand have been successful ingredients for achieving a fantastic business platform. After careful consideration, AE represented the best opportunity for me to focus my efforts on other opportunities. I am leaving the company in the best position to achieve continued success and growth on behalf of the many wonderful people who work at RMD and to keep the Hooters brand moving forward." Mr. Harding will continue to be involved with the Hooters brand on the International front through his ownership of World Wide Wings, LLC, a company that owns 8 Hooters in Canada, England and the Caribbean.
"I am very excited about this transaction," stated Coby Brooks, the President and CEO of Hooters of America, Inc. "Neal Harding has been a leader within the franchisee community. He was our first and finest franchisee. I can't wait to see what he will accomplish now that he is able to focus his efforts exclusively on International expansion. We are lucky to now have the resources of Mike Flinn and his team as well. I have complete confidence that they will make Hooters even stronger in this four state region with the financial and management resources they bring to the table," continued Brooks.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Mastodon Ventures, Inc. an Austin, Texas based M&A advisory firm has been retained to advise AE and SPP in connection with the acquisition.
Hooters of America, Inc. is the franchisor and operator of over 435 Hooters restaurants in 43 states and 24 foreign countries. The first Hooters opened in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida, and the brand will be celebrating its 25th anniversary next year. Hooters is well-known for its brand of food and fun, featuring a casual beach-theme atmosphere, a menu that features seafood, sandwiches and Hooters' nearly world famous chicken wings, all served by the All-American cheerleaders, the Hooters Girls. For more information about Hooters visit http://www.hooters.com/.
Hooters of America, Inc.
