Bojangles is reportedly working on a sale that could be over $1.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
If the deal materializes, it would be the chain’s second ownership transaction in six years. In 2019, the brand was sold for $593.7 million to The Jordan Company LP and Durational Capital Management LP. The company was publicly traded from 2015 to January 2019 before the acquisition.
However, sources told the Journal that Bojangles could decide against moving forward with the sale.
As of early May, the chain had 800-plus locations, consisting of 266 corporate units and 561 franchised locations. Ten new company-owned and franchised restaurants have opened in the past few months in Birmingham, Alabama; Dallas-Fort Worth; Houston; Columbia, South Carolina; Las Vegas; Atlanta; Zanesville, Ohio; Cordova, Tennessee; Orlando; and Piscataway, New Jersey.
More units are on the way in Orlando; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Dallas; Houston; and the first Colorado location. Bojangles is also targeting New Jersey, New York, Texas, Denver and Kansas City for future growth opportunities and announced early this year that its Southern California agreements target Orange County, Riverside, and San Bernardino, with the goal of selling out the Los Angeles market by mid-2025.
“These openings have set the stage for our continued growth throughout the rest of the year, particularly in new markets where Bojangles has never been before,” CEO Jose Armario said in a news release announcing the openings.
Bojangles ended 2024 with 825 outlets, a net increase of 12 year-over-year. That’s after growing by 25 in 2023 and 15 in 2022.
The chain, founded in 1977, has gone through notable changes in recent years. Bojangles dropped its apostrophe in 2020 and it has also leaned heavily into hand-breaded chicken tenders and its chicken sandwich across newer markets. Its latest restaurants have a biscuit theater where guests can see workers making biscuits through glass.
The company has three dayparts, including an all-day breakfast platform that mixes 37 percent.
