Twin Peaks and Smokey Bones want to go public.
Parent company Fat Brands on Tuesday said the operating unit for the two casual-dining brands confidentially submitted a registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to become a standalone public company.
Sports bar chain Twin Peaks ended 2023 with 103 locations, a 12% increase from the year before, and $545.9 million in sales, up 11.1% from the prior year, according to Top 500 chain restaurant data from RB sister firm Technomic.
Barbecue concept Smokey Bones saw sales decline 7.9% in 2023, to $174.9 million, according to Technomic. It ended the year with 61 locations, the same as the year before.
Fat Brands acquired Twin Peaks for $300 million in October 2021 and it picked up Smokey Bones for $30 million last September.
The go-public announcement comes just a few days after federal prosecutors charged Fat Brands Chairman Andy Wiederhorn with using company funds to pay for $47 million worth of personal expenses.
Wiederhorn’s spending was so extensive, he depleted 40% of Fat Brands’ revenue between 2018 and 2021, “often leaving the company with insufficient cash to pay its own bills,” the SEC said.
Fat Brands, through its attorney, called the charges “unprecedented, unwarranted, unsubstantiated and unjust.”
Fat Brands’ restaurant portfolio includes 18 chains, including Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s and Round Table Pizza, for a total of more than 2,300 units worldwide, the company said.
The filing of a confidential registration statement for an initial public offering does not ensure that a company will go public any time soon, or ever. Whether the IPO comes to fruition is dependent on a variety of factors, including approval of Fat Brands’ board.
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