Jack in the Box Inc. announced that it has completed the sale of Qdoba Restaurant Corporation to an affiliate of certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC for about $305 million in cash. Qdoba operates and franchises more than 700 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada.
In connection with the sale, the Company will make a prepayment of $260 million to retire outstanding debt under its term loan, as required by the terms of its credit facility.
Lenny Comma, chairman and chief executive officer of Jack in the Box Inc., says, “We wish the Qdoba brand and its leadership team and franchisees all the best. Completing the sale of Qdoba marks an important milestone in the actions we’re taking to enhance shareholder value while creating an asset-light business model that is less capital intensive.”
Lance Milken, a senior partner at Apollo, says, “With the close of this acquisition, we are very excited to be working alongside Qdoba’s outstanding management team, talented employees, and dedicated franchise partners. We look forward to continuing Qdoba’s growth as a leading fast-casual restaurant brand.”
At the time the Company acquired Qdoba in 2003, it had 85 locations in 16 states, with $65 million in system-wide sales. Today, Qdoba is the second largest fast-casual Mexican food brand in the U.S., with more than 700 locations in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, and system-wide sales of more than $820 million in fiscal 2017.
