Restaurants & Hospitality Acquisitions in Florida

H.I.G. Capital, through an affiliate, has completed the acquisition of Shore Excursions Group, the world's largest independent provider of onshore tours and excursions for cruise passengers. Founded in 2008 and headquartered near Fort Lauderdale, Shore Excursions Group coordinates over 4,000 tours across roughly 350 ports and has delivered more than five million tours via travel-agency and direct channels. Marathon Asset Management and Webster Bank arranged a senior-secured credit facility to support H.I.G.'s acquisition and future growth plans.

Bain Capital has invested in Concert Golf Partners as Clearlake Capital completes its exit; terms were not disclosed. Concert Golf, an owner-operator of 39 private golf and country clubs headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida, will be supported by Bain's Private Equity and Real Estate teams to continue platform growth and investment in club amenities.

TSG Consumer (TSG Consumer Partners) has made a strategic minority growth investment in Pura Vida Miami to accelerate the premium health-and-wellness café's nationwide expansion. Co‑founders Omer and Jennifer Horev retain majority ownership and will continue to lead the business as it scales from more than 40 locations across Florida, New York City and Southern California.

Wonder Franchises, the franchisor platform of Tucker's Farm Corporation, has acquired Soccer 5, a small-sided soccer facility brand founded by Alan and Scott Georgeson. The Georgesons retain meaningful ownership and will remain in leadership while Wonder aims to expand Soccer 5's corporate-unit footprint and franchise system across the U.S., with a focus on municipal expansion and Southeast growth.

Michigan-based Savvy Sliders has acquired Florida-based BurgerFi, adding the chef-driven fast-casual chain to its portfolio alongside Happy's Pizza and Fat Boy's Pizza. BurgerFi will continue to operate under its own name across its locations, and the combined restaurant portfolio will total 206 stores.

Meaningful Partners, a Los Angeles- and Austin-based private investment firm, has closed its acquisition of Fitness Ventures, LLC, the second-largest Crunch Fitness franchisee that operates 47 locations across 25 states. The investment (debt financed by Ares Management’s Credit Group) will support Fitness Ventures’ de novo and M&A growth strategy to scale its multi-location Crunch Fitness operations.

RL Investor Holdings LLC — an entity formed by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group with co-investors TCW Private Credit and Blue Torch — has completed its acquisition of the Red Lobster restaurant chain as the company exits Chapter 11. The transaction recapitalizes Red Lobster (about 545 restaurants and a ~30,000-strong workforce) and includes a committed plan of new funding to stabilize operations and support a turnaround following the restructuring.

Los Angeles-based St. Cloud Capital has made a growth-capital investment in AIM QSR, LLC (branded TICE), a Miami-area franchisee of a leading chicken QSR brand, alongside AIM Capital and a consortium of family investors. The financing helped fund AIM QSR’s acquisition of 46 restaurants in Florida and 9 in Alabama as the company builds a regional multi-unit QSR platform.

The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. completed its acquisition of Safflower Holdings Corp., the owner of Benihana Inc., for $365 million in cash. The deal brings nearly 6,500 Benihana employees into The ONE Group and is intended to expand and diversify the company's experiential VIBE restaurant portfolio.

Heritage Golf Group has acquired Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc.; terms were not disclosed. The acquisition expands Heritage's portfolio of private country clubs and positions the company to continue operating and enhancing the club's amenities and member experience in the Lakewood Ranch community in Florida.

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. has completed the previously announced merger to acquire Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation, making Bluegreen an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of HGV. Under the merger terms, each outstanding share of Bluegreen Class A and Class B common stock was canceled and converted into the right to receive $75.00 in cash; Bluegreen's public trading was suspended.

FAT Brands Inc. has acquired the Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill restaurant chain from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners for $30 million. The purchase adds 61 corporate Smokey Bones locations across 16 states, is expected to increase adjusted EBITDA by about $10 million, and expands FAT Brands' polished dining portfolio.

Darden Restaurants agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Ruth's Hospitality Group, the owner/operator of Ruth's Chris Steak House, in an all-cash transaction valued at about $715 million ($21.50 per share). The deal, which closed June 14, 2023 via a tender offer and short-form merger, brings roughly 155 Ruth's Chris locations and nearly 5,000 team members into Darden's portfolio of restaurant brands.

Bowlero Corp. has acquired two bowling centers in Cape Coral, Florida—Bowland Cape Coral (33 lanes) and HeadPinz Cape Coral (18 lanes)—and will rebrand them as Bowlero locations. The acquisitions expand Bowlero's Florida footprint to 31 centers and add family-entertainment, arcade and event-space capabilities in the Cape Coral market.

Exeter Capital led the acquisition of FL Glaze, LLC, the largest Dunkin’ franchisee in Florida operating 100 Dunkin' units, with a capital investment from Pittco Direct Investments II, LP. The transaction establishes Exeter’s platform presence in Florida’s Dunkin’ market and provides growth capital and scale for the franchisee.

Seoul-based private equity firm Centroid Investment Partners has made a strategic investment in Concert Golf Partners, joining existing investor Clearlake Capital and Concert Golf management. The injection of capital is intended to support Concert Golf's portfolio expansion and club enhancement initiatives, leveraging Centroid's golf-sector expertise and partnership with TaylorMade.

The owners of Crabby Bill's (the family-run Original Crabby Bill's restaurant group led by Matt Loder Sr.) are purchasing Dunedin waterfront restaurant Bon Appetit from longtime owners Peter Kreuziger and Karl Riedl. The sale is pending; the buyer says Bon Appetit will retain its name, concept and staff as the restaurant is folded into the group's expanding local portfolio.

VTrips, a fast-growing U.S. vacation rental management company, acquired Southern Vacation Rentals on April 1, 2022, adding 1,120 properties and 123 team members to its portfolio and bringing VTrips' total managed properties to more than 5,000. Southern Vacation Rentals' CEO Scott Seay will join VTrips as chief strategy officer as the companies integrate operations while retaining local brand presence.

Clearlake Capital Group has made a growth investment in Concert Golf Partners, a boutique operator of private golf and country clubs, to fund portfolio expansion and enhancements to member amenities. Concert Golf’s founding management team (Chairman & CEO Peter Nanula and COO Susan Dunnavant) will remain in place; financial terms were not disclosed.

Planet Fitness, Inc. agreed to acquire Sunshine Fitness Growth Holdings, LLC — a Planet Fitness franchisee operating 114 clubs in the Southeast U.S. — in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $800 million, funded in part by a new securitization and available cash. The locations (in AL, FL, GA, NC and SC) were folded into Planet Fitness' company-owned portfolio, and Sunshine co-founder Shane McGuiness joined Planet Fitness to oversee the combined corporate club operations; the deal closed in February 2022.

Funds managed by Certares Management LLC have closed a strategic growth investment in Avoya Travel, joining Jeff and Michael Anderson as co-owners. The minority investment (terms undisclosed) will support Avoya's technology and platform growth while Brad Anderson moves to an advisory role and Van Anderson retires.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. agreed to acquire Firehouse Subs (Firehouse Restaurant Group Inc.) for $1.0 billion in an all-cash deal. The acquisition adds a fast-growing, franchise-driven quick-service sandwich brand with ~1,200 restaurants and is expected to be immediately accretive to RBI's earnings while enabling accelerated U.S. and international expansion and digital capability enhancements.

BurgerFi International Inc. agreed to acquire Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings from L Catterton for approximately $161.3 million in a stock, preferred equity and debt assumption transaction. The deal expands BurgerFi's multi-brand restaurant platform, adding 61 Anthony's locations and complementary fast-casual and virtual concepts to its portfolio.

VTrips, a Ponte Vedra, Florida-based technology-enabled vacation rental manager, received a significant minority equity investment from Hudson Hill Capital to accelerate its acquisition strategy and strengthen its technology offering. The capital will be deployed to support M&A activity (VTrips expects to deploy over $250 million) and enhance the company's digital marketing and local market operations across North America.

WOWorks, the multi-brand parent company owned by Centre Lane Partners, has acquired The Simple Greek, a 24-unit fast-casual Greek restaurant franchise founded by Marcus Lemonis. The acquisition adds The Simple Greek to WOWorks' portfolio alongside Saladworks, Frutta Bowls and Garbanzo, supporting the platform's growth and non-traditional channel expansion.

The parent company of Saladworks — newly organized as WOWorks and fully owned by Centre Lane Partners — has acquired Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and Frutta Bowls and consolidated the brands under the WOWorks holding company. Saladworks' operations team will manage the two concepts to drive growth and scale, with Garbanzo CEO James Park remaining on as a special advisor.

Natural Retreats, a national luxury vacation rental management company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, has acquired 360 Blue, a Santa Rosa Beach, Florida–based luxury vacation rental manager that operates over 700 properties across the Emerald Coast and select ski markets. The transaction expands Natural Retreats' footprint in high-end vacation destinations and adds 360 Blue's local operational capabilities and homeowner relationships to Natural Retreats' portfolio.

Golden Gate Capital agreed to sell its remaining equity stake in Red Lobster Seafood Co. to a consortium led by Thai Union Group PCL, an investor group operating under the name Seafood Alliance (led by Paul Kenny and Rit Thirakomen), and Red Lobster management. The deal deepens Thai Union's strategic commitment to Red Lobster and brings additional international restaurant operating expertise to support domestic and international growth; financial terms were not disclosed.

Boathouse Capital partnered with independent sponsor Green Shoot Partners to acquire Fresh Dining Concepts, a Coral Gables‑based multi‑unit franchise operator that runs over 50 Auntie Anne's, Cinnabon and Carvel locations along the U.S. East Coast. Boathouse provided participating preferred equity while affiliates of Green Shoot Partners and FDC management invested common equity; debt financing was provided by Bridge Funding Group (a BankUnited subsidiary).

CapitalSpring partnered with the management team of FSC Franchise Co., LLC to recapitalize the franchisor of Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap. The transaction provides capital and aligns management ownership to support growth and expansion of the company’s restaurant and bar brands.

Rosser Capital Partners, a Greenwich-based investment firm, has acquired Skillets, Inc., an upscale breakfast and lunch restaurant operator based in Naples, Florida. The transaction transfers ownership from founder Ross Edlund to RCP as part of RCP's continued expansion in the restaurant and consumer sectors.