American Restaurant Concepts, Inc. operator and franchisor of the award-winning Dick's Wings & Grill restaurants, announced that it has acquired a 50 percent interest in Wing Nutz.
Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wing Nutz is a leading franchisor of family-friendly, sports-themed restaurants offering premium baked chicken wings, baked sandwiches, and other baked foods. It also offers its own proprietary line of craft beers under the name "Nut Job Beers." Wing Nutz currently has 10 restaurants in Utah and one restaurant in Idaho, with an additional restaurant about to open in Utah and one in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are an additional six restaurants in the pipeline in other western states.
Under the terms of the deal, the Company acquired a 50 percent ownership interest in Paradise on Wings Franchise Group, LLC, which is the franchisor of the Wing Nutz restaurants and owner of the Wing Nutz intellectual property, in return for a combination of cash and stock. In a separate but related transaction, Blue Victory Holdings, a Louisiana-based private equity firm, acquired a 50 percent ownership interest in Wing Nutz Development, LLC, which holds the operating assets and liabilities associated with running the Wing Nutz franchisees.
"We are pleased to have acquired a significant ownership stake in Wing Nutz as part of our strategy to drive growth and shareholder value by expanding into other brands," says Richard Akam, CEO of American Restaurant Concepts. "The Wing Nutz brand of premium baked chicken wings and other quality baked products complements our current Dick's Wings offering and expands our reach into the western half of the United States. This transaction increases the number of restaurants in which we have a financial interest by almost 70 percent, from 16 to 27, and will contribute greatly to our bottom line. We look forward to working with Will Miller and Will Owens and their team at Wing Nutz as we continue to grow our respective brands."
"ARC is a superb company that is run by an outstanding group of industry veterans," says William Miller, manager of Wing Nutz. "We are excited to have entered into this arrangement with American Restaurant Concepts and to continuing to expand our Wing Nutz brand throughout the United States."
"Wing Nutz is committed to providing our customers with the very best foods to enjoy, and by teaming up with ARC, we now have access to the substantial industry knowledge and resources necessary to take our business to the next level," says William Owens, manager of Wing Nutz. "By working together, this will be a win-win situation for both companies."
